I Just Want You
by Luvya2103
Summary: Kate woke with no memory,no idea of where she was. All she wants is Castle. But what she knew was that she was kidnapped. And she wasn't alone. Post 5x08 The rating is T but might change
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Thank you so much for visiting my story, this is my first Caskett/Castle story so I'm really just testing it out.

**UPDATED THIS CHAPTER: 10/1/2013**

Hope you enjoy it :)

C x

* * *

Chapter 1

The silence was getting to Kate's head as her mind slowly came to the situation at hand. Her head ached as the throbbing increased, her mind desperately trying to collect her thoughts on where she was, but struggled to.

She kept her eyes closed a little longer as she tried to search for so type of information but all she saw were stars.

Her head lolled uncontrollably to the side as her eyelids fluttered open. Her vision was groggy as the blurring shapes came together slowly, staring out into a room, a dark room that was holding her captive.

As she tried to move, the ropes that bound her legs and hands had also taped her to a chair in what seemed to be a basement of some sort. The room was fairly big, her being in the centre, staring at her opposing wall.

Kate tried to struggle but the ropes were tied tight and she couldn't reach the ropes.

'Hello?' Her vision finally came to as she looked around,'Is anybody there?'

_Okay think Kate. What's going on. Where are we. What is the last thing you remember._

Confusion filled her seemingly empty mind as she tried to focus on her past events, but struggled.

_Rick._

She smiled at the thought of him, images swarming her mind of the two of them over the years. She couldn't believe how blind she was to have not noticed or to have ignored that spark between them.

Now with her luck, just as they are finally together and in l- no wait it can't be called love quite this soon can it? I don't know. She had to go get herself kidnapped, right when things were going so well.

Her head felt heavy as she tried to resurrect her thoughts.

_Castle._

_Rick._

Her eyes shot open in alarm and tried to look behind her with only the thought of him in her mind. Where was he? Was he ok?

She took a staggered breath as she tried to calm herself and concentrate. What _was_ the last thing she could remember? Then it came back in flashes.

_Rick and she stood at the door as she assured her dad that they would be fine and that they aren't going anywhere._

_"Are you sure Katie? I can stay with you just incase-"_

_"Dad," Kate hugged her father," I'll be fine. You don't have to worry about me. Just go home and take care of yourself."_

_Jim raised an eyebrow but gave a submissive shoulder shrug, "Fine, fine. But give me a call tomorrow night."_

_Kate smiled, "Sure will. Love you dad."_

_"Love you too Katie."_

_As the door closed, Rick slid his arms around her waist and whispered, "Are you sure you don't want to stay? I have ice cream."_

_Kate leant her head back into the crook of his shoulder and closed her eyes. It did sound nice._

_She turned around to face him, giving him a slow kiss on the lips before sliding her hands around his neck, looking into his eyes. Those gorgeous, dazzling eyes._

_He gave her that look, that pouty, pleading look that made Kate's heart broke whenever she saw it. A small grin began to spread but she bowed her head to hide it. She sighed as he lifted her chin with his index finger, that cheeky grin toying with her fragile heart._

_'I should go home sometime this week. It's still my apartment and I don't want to bother Martha and Alexis-'_

_He cut her off with a finger to her lips, "They love having you here and you know it. Why can't you just move in? You basically live here already."_

_She gave him one of her looks before making her way to the couch to collect her things, 'Because..' She knew she had no plausible reason but she didn't know why she couldn't agree quite yet. She rested her brown weathered jacket across over he forearm and fiddled with the buttons._

_He smirked at her as she had an internal battle, 'Fine. But I'm expecting an answer soon.' He wagged his finger at her as he drew her closer for one last kiss._

_She pressed her lips lightly to his as she slowly and longingly looked at him before stepping out into the hallway. She glanced back at him and grinned, 'Goodnight Rick.'_

_His eyes were still locked on hers as the door slowly closed shut. Even in her dreams tonight, his hauntingly blue eyes would still be embedded in her mind._

_As his door closed, her body rested against the door, she already knew her answer and knew she was going to regret spending the night away from him, and end up sneaking into his house in the middle of the night._

_As she sighed and went to walk around the corner, a hand slid over her mouth and she could smell the chlorophyll filling her breath_

Kate gasped as it all came back to her, her heart beating fast. As she panicked she heard a groan from behind her.

Craning her neck to try and see, she croaked, 'Hello? Who is that?'

The darkness around her didn't help her headache as she strained against the ropes, the chair creaking under the strain

Another groan arose as Kate's heart quickened even more, was it Castle?

Kate's heart plummeted as the stranger spoke.

'Kate? Wha…what's happening? Wh..where are we?' The timid and scared voice spoke.

'Alexis?'

* * *

**UPDATED!** Hello all of my fellow Castlenauts and Castlenauttes! I am currently in the process of going through the story and updating so keep with me for a while!

Please R&R

C xx


	2. Chapter 2

Hi everyone, I deleted all my previous stories because they were terrible. Like really terrible. Then this idea came to me whilst watching Castle (Best show ever) 5x08 'After Hours'. The scene when Beckett hugged Castle with her handcuffs was the cutest moment. Also, if anyone knows where I can find that new version of that piece of music '_I just want you'_ by Robert Duncan. It was so cute and I already have the two other versions.

Pleas post your ideas and thoughts on my chapters :)

Anyway, here's chapter 2

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Chapter 2

'Kate?' Her broken voiced across the dark and barren room, 'Kate, what's going on?'

Kate looked around her, the silence seeping in unwantedly, 'I don't know.'

Alexis's ragged breath came out in gasps as Kate could hear the wheezing from her chest, 'Alexis are you alright?' She tried to crane her neck to see her.

Alexis groaned, 'I'm not sure but my chest hurts and so does my head but I'll be fine.' Kate tried to calm down as she felt her own heart restrict as the guilt washed over her. 'How did I get here?' _Alexis shouldn't be here, I'm probably the reason why she's in this mess. _

'I….I don't know. Can you see anything?'

'Yeah um just wait my eyes are adjusting. There's an old fridge in the corner, a mattress and a door. It's so dark.'

Kate shivered as she felt a chill, squinting into the corner where it came from. The window was barred but the glass was shattered. Her jacket was torn in one arm so the chill spread slowly through her jacket, glad her scarf was hanging loosely from her neck.

The ropes seemed to get tighter as the time slowly ticked by and all Kate could hear was the sound of the light rain pattering outside the small window in the corner.

Kate struggled against the ropes, feeling them bite into her skin and her legs started to ache. She gave up when her wrist started to become aggravated and ache.

Her mind was filled with so many questions and thoughts of Rick, and her dad and poor Alexis. She was so frustrated at herself. How could she not have seen this coming?

Alexis didn't deserve this. She wasn't a part of the mess Kate created. And to think Kate thought it was over.

A loud bang echoed through the room and Kate and Alexis's heads snapped towards the noise. The sound of footsteps approached and Kate's heart quickened. She tried to reassure Alexis (and herself) that it was going to be alright.

The door flung open and three men walked in, all dressed in black. By the sheer bulk of their form, Kate could guess they weren't mucking around. They were professionals. Two of them came and untied Kate from the chair and started to usher her out of the room.

Kate thrashed around as hard as she could, kicking and yelling and trying to return back to Alexis, hearing her call out for Kate. As the door slammed behind her, Kate hoped that it wouldn't be the last time she saw Alexis.

As she was dragged along the hallway, she tried to memorize her surroundings but it was hard to do so whilst her heart was beating a thousand miles an hour. The corridor was dark; the lights were flickering as she passed multiple doors. Her headache had dulled but her thirst for water was overpowering.

They finally arrived at their destination, a rundown red door that creaked when they pushed it open to see a man sitting at a table facing an empty chair. They dragged her to it and pushed her down. As she struggled against them, they tied her to the chair. They proceeded to leave the room, closing the door behind them.

Kate took a deep breath and looked at the man sitting across from her. The man was in his mid-forties, with greying hair, from a British decent. His suit reeked of cigars and expensive cologne, and the Rolex on her watch supported her theory. A mobster.

'So you must be Detective Beckett.' He smirked at her over the top of his cigar.

She looked at him with a dry expression and said nothing. He chuckled whilst he brought an envelope from his suit jacket pocket. He placed the envelope on the table and proceeded to stand from the table and pace behind her.

'Why am I here?' He paused as she croaked the words out in a whisper.

'You're here because you are now involved. I have my sources that tell me all sorts of stuff about you. They say you're a highly praised cop. Your mother was murdered and that is why you became a cop. Currently you're in a relationship with your partner, Richard Castle. Aw how cute. His daughter is currently residing in the room you just left.'

She glared at him as he leant casually against the wall and stared out into the rain. She didn't know where he was going with this but it didn't sound good.

'Michael Dolan was recently involved in one of your cases. Let's just say that he and I….aren't the best of friends. The police have something of mine that I need. It was taken a few years back by Michael Dolan, but the police have recently gotten possession of this…object. So, by taking you, I was hoping to make a type of….exchange.'

She looked at him, 'What about Alexis?'

He smirked, 'Ah yes, the girl, I was hoping she would help stimulate the process and speed it up a bit. My possession is important for my trading and if the cops refuse my deal, she is to be used as bait and I will kill her if I do not receive it.' He leant across the table, hands supporting him as his cold, grey eyes seem to make her cower even more.

'Please let her go, she has nothing to do with it. Kill me instead.' She pleaded with him and he sat back down.

'Oh Kate. I'm not letting her go. The fun is just beginning. Now, you are going to return to the room. You may as well get comfortable; you're going to be here for a while.'

He whistled and the men came and untied her, dragging her away as she shouted, 'They'll come for her and me. You don't know what you're getting yourself into.' She struggled against the men as they slammed the door, the fragile walls trembling with its force.

He smiled, chuckling 'I'm counting on it.'

Kate was thrown into the room, the door slamming behind her. She fell to the floor, banging her head against the cold concrete floor. She felt the bruises beginning to form as she attempted to sit up.

'Kate! Are you alright? What did they do to you?' Alexis struggled against her chair as she frantically looked at Kate's bound body.

Kate sat up slowly, groaning, her head had resumed the throbbing and aching feeling. As she tried to move her hands, her eyes flew open in hope as the ropes on her hands began to loosen.

She wriggled herself out of the ropes as her pain in her head lay forgotten. She quickly threw the ropes away, scrambling to undo the ropes at her feet.

Alexis's face expressed hope as Kate approached her, untying the ropes at her wrists, 'Do they know you're out of the ropes?'

Kate glanced at her before continuing,' I don't think so, this could probably work to our advantage but we have to be quiet.'

Alexis rubbed her wrists as the ropes lay forgotten, standing to stretch her aching legs. Kate started to walk around trying to find a light switch as she limped slightly from her bruised muscles.

She did a mental backflip as she switched the light on, turning around to survey the room.

The room looked smaller when the light was turned on, the fridge and mattress Alexis mentioned earlier standing on the left hand side of the room, a table and two chairs on the right hand side. She turned to the door she had come in from and tried the lock before trying to kick down the door. Unsuccessfully, she looked around the room for another exit before spying another door that she hadn't seen before.

She studied the door as she approached it cautiously and gently turned the handle and pushed the door open. It swung open to reveal a simple bathroom, complete with two sinks, a bath/shower and a toilet. Kate sighed in relief, not really knowing what to have expected behind the door.

Alexis approached behind her and Kate saw the worry in the young girls' eyes. The weight of the situation once again returned to Kate as she looked at the brave girl in front of her.

Kate drew Alexis in for a hug as she broke down, Kate gently guiding them onto the harsh mattress. The tears kept flowing as Kate rubbed her back, trying to get all the frustration, pain, shock and sadness out of her. Kate held her as she let it all out, understanding the emotions that must be controlling her at the moment.

She turned Alexis toward her, 'You know that we'll make it out right? Everything will be fine. I don't know how but I know that your father will find us, well will be safe. You are strong and together, you and me, we will get out.'

Alexis nodded before gradually calming down and settling down besides Kate. Kate continued to rub her back as the stress and tiredness of the situation hit her like a ton of bricks.

She lay down on the cold mattress, her eyes drooping as her head lulled on the cold material. The last thought that went through her head before she fell asleep was a silent plea out to God. She'd never really believed in God but felt sometimes, talking to someone in her mind helped her. _Rick please find us. I miss you so much._

* * *

So what did you think? The next chapter which will come sometime during this week, (im going to a festival this weekend so i'll try and do it soon, hopefully it will be a long one), hoping to have a bit of Rick and the boys POV and a little bit more of Kate and Alexis.

Hope you like it xxx

Please R&R!


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey all, I'm back again with chapter 3, it's going good, I have a fair idea of what I want to happen with the storyline so that's positive!**

**I was listening to the _Up_ soundtrack (the track 'Stuff We Did') whilst writing the last part of this chapter. The _Up_ soundtrack is so good, it puts me in a good mood. :)**

**I sadly don't own Castle, though If Andrew Marlowe would let me, the things I would do... (Insert evil cackling laugh)**

**UPDATED 10/1/2013**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Rick's pace quickened as he approached the elevator. He ran a little to press the button.

'Come on, come on, come on.' He murmured, his fingers tapping on his legs. The worry that had started to creep in a couple of hours ago maximized as his creative mind went into overdrive, imagining all the situations that could have occurred.

The elevator pinged open and he stumbled inside, pressing the close button frantically, trying to push the doors close with the force. _No wait, no time to be stupid._

The elevator doors finally opened on the 12th floor and Rick fell out, his mind in a frenzy as it scanned the room for the boys.

"Esposito, Ryan!' He shouted running towards the break room, finding them chatting over coffee. They looked at him in confusion.

'Hey Castle. What's up?' Esposito sipped his coffee whilst he murmured.

Castle took a deep breath,' They're gone.'

Ryan started to walk out of the break room, heading towards his desk.' What do you mean they're gone? Who's gone?'

Castle stumbled upon his words as they tumbled nervously out of his mouth,' Kate and Alexis. I've been trying for hours to contact them, Kate's doorman said she never got home last night and Alexis was at a party. She was home for the weekend from college. She was meant to be at home by 1.00 but never showed. They're both gone and I can't find them, I've looked every-'

'Whoa whoa Castle calm down, I'm sure everything is fine. Just your crazy mind going into overdrive. Beckett's probably gone to visit her dad.'

'I've called everyone I know that she knows. I can't…I just-' He trailed off as he sat in one of the desk chairs, putting his head in his hands.

Esposito and Ryan glanced at each other, the confused and worry looks mirroring each other.

Ryan put a hand on his back, 'Look, if you're really worried, we can do a GPS scan on their phones, you know Beckett never goes anywhere without her phone. Whilst we do that, you go into the break room, get a coffee and calm down, ok?'

Castle nodded in defeat and slunk slowly over to the break room, seating himself down onto the couch.

Esposito murmured whilst they watched Castle's retreating figure, 'What the hell is going on here?'

The boys looked onto Castles hunched figure as the worry started to send an uneasy chill up Castles spine.

* * *

Kate started to come to when she felt something moving beside her. Hugging the figure tighter, she soon came to her senses as she remembered all the events of the previous day. The memories flooded her and she started to sit up, trying not to wake Alexis in the process.

Kate stood up slowly, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, looking around. The sunlight was streaming through the bars of the window in the corner and she wandered over to look through the small pane of glass.

The cracked glass was foggy, the cold air from the broken window seeping through and chilling her to her bones.

'Kate?'

Kate turned her head to see Alexis scratching her head in confusion. She watched her turned her head around, the memories of yesterday returning.

Alexis drew her legs into her body as the cold drew over the room.

Kate approached her, rubbing the girls knees, 'Hey. You ok?'

Alexis nodded her head slowly, 'I'm ok. You.'

Kate went to say something but she knew if the words escaped her mouth, it would be a lie. All she could think about was the opportunities she ever took. Why she never told Rick she loved him. She was a coward. And now, she may never see him again.

Alexis grabbed her hand, 'I know. I miss him too.' She smiled sadly at Kate as she read the pained facial expressions

Footsteps could be heard, echoing down the hallway. Two sets of footsteps. Alexis shrunk against the wall as Kate tried to stand with a confident look, the look she took into investigation rooms.

The door unlocked and the two bulky men walked in. Alexis stood to stand behind Kate but the men didn't approach them. They dragged two duffel bags into the room, plonking them down in the middle before retreating just as quick as they came, locking the door behind him.

Kate sighed in relief at the thought of not having to be handcuffed and tied up to a chair again. Alexis stepped forward and crouched down to open the bags. Inside one of the bags were some cans of food, a couple of water bottles, two old blankets, a couple of old books, and a few other items.

Alexis murmured, 'Well, it's better than nothing before grabbing the food and proceeding to fill up the old fridge.

Kate opened the other bag to see some toiletries, soap and tooth brush and paste. She was puzzled at the actions of their capturers because they weren't treating them harshly. They were treating them as guests.

Kate's head cocked to the side as she tried to remember her brief training at the academy with hostage situations. Usually the kidnappers held them for ransom or sold them, which usually all happened in a 72 hour lifespan.

But what puzzled her now was that their kidnappers seemed to want them to settle down.

Kate sat back on her legs, her head full of confusion, looking back towards the door. Her mind was reeling, _what did this mean and what exactly was going on here?_

Before she could ponder anymore, Alexis interrupted her thoughts by asking her to set the blankets on the mattress, giving her something to do. Kate shook her head out of its puzzle and continued to organize the stuff around the room.

* * *

Castle was staring blankly at the wall opposite him, his mind was blank and void from any thought. His emotions had ceased hours ago, the emotional stress had gotten to him and his body was exhausted. But he refused to left himself get the sleep he need, _Somewhere, out there, Kate and Lex are scared out of their minds, in a situation they shouldn't be. I can't relax until I have them back with me._

Esposito and Ryan had pushed him off the case when his anxiety and frustration had gotten the better of him, but Castle refused to go home and decided to camp it out on the coach.

His head fell against the couch behind him, staring at the panels in the ceiling, as if they'd tell him where the capturers were hiding them.

There was a slight knock at the door, 'Hey Castle,' Esposito looked at him sadly, 'We've talked to all your neighbours that live on your floor, called the cab company but no luck. We still have to check security cams so we're going to do that now.' As he spoke, he quickly rubbed his eyes, as if he were trying to get rid of the dark bags under his eyes.

Castle looked him over. He looked like a mess but Castle probably looked worse. Esposito had been working non-stop for about 16 hours interviewing people and getting updates and he had had no time to change clothes or shower and he looked a mess. You could see the anxiety and sadness that was consuming him.

'Espo, go home. I'll stay here whilst you and Ryan get some sleep. We can start fresh tomorrow.'

'But Beckett-'

'Beckett would say the same. You need rest and a fresh set of eyes. Go home.' Castle put a hand on his shoulder and Esposito nodded slowly in defeat before retreating to his desk and heading to the elevator.

Castle sighed before turning back into the break room to get another coffee. After the delicious aroma filled his nostrils, he was slowly, clutching the coffee, heading to Esposito's desk.

Castle took a deep breath before settling in Esposito's chair. He sat there for a while, staring ahead of him where Beckett's desk stood in a cold silence, the chair tucked in and his chair sitting neatly by it.

The station was nearly empty and the only lights on were in the surrounding offices and rooms. Castle surveyed the room in a sad silence, reminiscing on the many memories he had of this place.

He decided if he was going to do this right, it had to be in the right spot. He picked up his coffee and the files and made his way to her desk. He paused before taking her chair out, before chuckling sadly and sliding her chair back in. _She would kill me if I sat down in her chair._ He settled down in his usual spot, glancing at the empty seat where Beckett usually resided in. Her, sitting there with her Grande non-fat Latte, smiling at his attempted jokes or stupidity. Her, nervously biting her lips and frowning as the pressure or confusion of the case got to her. Her, smiling excitedly at him when she discovered a break in the case.

He sighed and picked up one of the files, opening to the first of many pages, sitting in silence as the darkness surrounded him, the soft touch of light illuminating the files into the wee hours of the morning.

* * *

Poor Castle, I felt really bad writing this about him.

Please R&R :)

C xx


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hi everyone, if you've made it this far that's just awesome! Thank you so much for reading my story and putting up with me! I've been trying to update every Wednesday so I'll try to make sure they are really long :).

Hope you like it.

**UPDATED 10/1/2013**

Here goes

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Chapter 4

Kates mind was burning in thought, her mind reeling at a hundred miles per hour. _What the hell was going on here? What was this possession that they kept mentioning?_

'Are you hungry?' Alexis sat at the small table in the corner, slowly devouring the bowl of cold pasta she had made up. Kate made her way over, her bones aching as she sat down in the opposite chair. The immediate pain she'd felt before had gone but the lasting aching in her bones had lingered.

'Nah I'm good thanks.' Silence once again resumed the room and Alexis pondered Kate as she looked at her quizzically.

'What.' Kate glanced at her, confused.

Alexis seemed to struggle with her next sentence, 'You...and my dad, is it for real? Because you have no idea how much he likes you and if you ever hurt him or leave him, he will never be able to recover. And when he's down, I'm down and we'll never be able to be happy again.'

Kate was surprised by the question before truthfully answering, 'Yes, well it is for me. I would never hurt your dad intentionally.'

Alexis paused before she continued, 'You're so different from anyone else he's dated before. You've actually taken the time to get to know me whereas they just put up me and put on a fake smile. I always felt as if I wasn't worth knowing.'

'Oh Alexis,' Kate took her hand in hers,' you are a wonderful girl, they are the ones who missed out on knowing you. You're smart, beautiful and funny. A full package.'

Kate seemed to forget for a couple of moments, the situation they were in, the calmness between them.

Alexis scoffed, 'You know, right now, you're acting more like a mother than my actual mother ever was.'

Kate quickly put in, 'I'm sure your mother loved you very-'

'Yeah sure. Saying she'll visit, getting my hopes up and then at the last minute calling to say she can't make it because she's at an audition. And it wasn't just once .' Alexis ate the rest of her meal in silence and took her bowl into the sink in the bathroom before curling up on the mattress.

Kate made her way over slowly. Alexis obviously had held this in for a while and needed to vent. She propped herself against the wall and slowly ran comforting circles on the younger girls back.

'I tried so…so hard to try and love her. Because she's my mother, and that's what families do. But, she never visited, never. And when I finally would organize something with her, she'd always cancel at the last minute. Always had something to do, better than spending time with her own daughter.' Alexis rambled on as the tears flowed down her cheeks.

'I've tried to accept it. It's been nearly 19 years, you'd think I would've gotten over it. I must look so stupid.'

'Hey,' Kate turned Alexis so she was facing her,' It's ok. You have every right to be angry. But you shouldn't feel guilty because this pain is not your fault.' Kate looked at her so seriously that Alexis calmed down and she relaxed against Kate's body, her body sagging in emotional relief.

They sat in a comfortable silence, Kate rubbing Alexis' back in a soothing way; the weight of the situation lay aside as they just took comfort in each other's company.

Kate kept thinking about the position _she_ had landed herself (and Alexis) in. _Think think think_, _what would Castle do?_

She chuckled at the thought of that. What _would _Castle do? Probably come up with some crazy conspiracy about a CIA kidnapping and they were being held ransom for 200 million dollars. That the country was depending on them.

The smile slide of her face as she came back to reality. Castle wasn't her to comfort her. To comfort _them._ He wasn't there to crack a joke. To raised his eyebrow quirkily as she responded in their flirting banter. To give her a comforting hug when the situation got tough.

Now she was the one doing the comforting.

As Kate was deep in thought, she broke out when Alexis turned to her, 'You know, Kate, some day you're going to make a great mother.'

Kate sat shocked for a couple of seconds, 'I…I..um…thanks.'

She had to admit she had thought about it a couple of times. Starting a family, with Rick. He was an amazing, nurturing father and a smile came to her face whenever she thought of little Castle's running around a back yard, her and Rick watching over them.

Alexis chuckled and stood up, retrieving the toiletries, 'I'm going to the bathroom to wash up, you can stay here and keep imagining your future with my dad, among other things.' She snickered as she scampered off into the small room.

Kate look back at her as a small smile crept on her face. She was glad that Alexis had accepted her in to their life, Kate loved her and she loved Kate. And Rick loved everyone.

She was so glad that Alexis accepted her because she knew that as a teenager, things were fickle and especially when Kate was her age, she didn't listen to her parents much and tried to be independent The fact that Alexis was considerate of her fathers feelings just proved how mature she really was.

Kate blew her breath out slowly. Glancing at the door that blocked her from the capture's, she finally felt the wave of hope she had been desperately wishing for.

Kate turned on the door with a pity shrug, _they had no idea what was coming for them_.

* * *

'Castle. CASTLE.'

Castle woke in fright, knocking all the coffee cups off the desk, files flying everywhere as Castle scrambled to collect his thoughts.

Esposito looked at him in concern and he watched him struggle to pick everything. The dark circles and red skin around his eyes were obvious that he'd been awake all night.

Castle finally picked up his coffee cup and headed into the break room, rubbing his eyes. Ryan glanced at Esposito and he followed him into the break room.

'Castle, go home you need to rest, you're no use when you're exhausted.'

Castle turned around, enraged,' NO! I will NOT leave this place until I find them, safe and sound.' Castle shuddered as turned on his heel and continued to make coffee.

Esposito sighed in defeat at the doorway, 'Fine. We checked the tapes but found nothing, but we checked the statements again and one of neighbours was doing laundry downstairs and she saw something so we're going to interview her again. Also, some of the uniforms picked up some fibres on the fire escape outside Alexis' window. They've taken them to the lab and the results will be back soon. In the meantime, you need to go home and get some rest. Like Beckett would say, you're no use to us in this state.'

Castle bowed his head in exhaustion, looking at the pair with pleading eyes, 'Please, I can't…I can't do this until I know they're safe.'

Esposito looked at him in sympathy, 'Castle, you're not the only one who's hurting. Beckett's family. She's like a sister to us. We lose her and our whole team falls. You need to go…home.'

Castle looked at them pleading before shaking his head in defeat and silently putting his cup down and trudging towards the elevator.

Esposito and Ryan communicated with their eyes as a whole conversation passed between them.

Castle's head was bowed as he went into auto pilot, dragging his legs with him as he pressed the button for the elevator.

The doors slid open to the elevator, revealing what had been treasured time to him, when he could pull Beckett's pigtails, so to speak. And now he was heading home to where the memories of Alexis would haunt him, not allowing him to get any rest.

As the doors closed, he realized he couldn't go home and he couldn't stay here. The worry was clouding his mind and he knew that he wouldn't be able to find them if he was in this state. So he decided to go to the one place he knew he could think, where he'd gone whenever he'd got writers block during writing _Derek Storm._

The coffee shop on his apartment block.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading everyone for reading, I obviously don't live in New York so if I get any of the facts wrong please do tell me as I don't mean to.

C x


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Back again with Chp 5 hells yeah

Got this chapter out early just for you guys

**UPDATED 10/1/2013**

Please R&R

* * *

Chapter 5

* * *

The bell on the door rang as Castle pushed the door to the coffee shop open, the small and quiet bakery echoing with the sound of the bell. The fresh smell of bread wafted to him and he relished in the memory of that smell.

He shook his coat off him and hung it up on the hat stand before checking his phone for messages. _Don't want to miss any updates._

A tall man emerged from behind the counter, his hair greying at the roots. He was carrying a dirty dish tray, dropping it down when he saw Rick. He shouted in surprise, 'Ricki! Long time since you've been to visit! How've you been?'

Rick smiled at his enthusiasm, 'Too long, Marcus, too long.' He surveyed the familiar room, running his hands along the wooden chairs, feeling the inspiration that it had once bought him many years ago.

"So, do you just want the usual? A coffee and a bear claw?' Marcus rubbed the flour off his hands onto his apron.

'Sure, sounds good.' Rick sat down in his usual chair in the corner, with the view of the street. He looked around at the familiar landscape, then proceeded to get his pen and pad out of his bag and just started to write.

He wasn't fully aware of what he was writing, but the time was flying, the coffee had been long finished and the bear claw Marcus had brought out had long ago been finish. Castle wiped the back of his hand across his forehand, looking over all the notes that he'd highlighted of the case that didn't make sense.

As he looked over the notes, the bell at the door of the shop rang and Lanie pushed the door opened before looking around for Castle and coming to sit opposite him at the table.

'Hey Castle.'

"….Hey, Lanie. What are you- How'd you find me?'

She smiled, 'Called Martha, she gave me the name of the place. How you doing?' She grabbed his hands.

He sighed, 'I'm ok, worried to death but I know that I can't look for them if I'm hysterical.'

Marcus came over and Lanie ordered a hot chocolate before taking her coat off and draping over the back of her chair.

'What exactly are you doing here Lanie?'

'Keeping you company. Castle, you may act as though you're fine, but you need someone with you. And sometimes, your ideas aren't that crazy.'

Rick shrugged in defeat and handed his notes to Lanie who looked at them before looking at Castle again, 'You're doing so well Castle, you just got her, finally she admitted she likes you and now this goes and plonks itself in your lap. Hold in there, we'll find her.'

Castle nodded in silence before she continued, 'Do you know just how long I've been rooting for you guys? The first day! Hell, and you both took so long that I wanted to back hand the both of you! And now look what you've done, gone and gotten her kidnapped before I even have the chance to brag. So whether the kidnappers like it or not, we're finding them so we can bring them back so I can boast about the both of you.'

'She's a one-of-a-kind girl.'

Lanie rolled her eyes, 'Hell yeah she is! Now, if we get her out of this-I mean,' She paused before reinstating her comment, '_When_ we get her out of this mess, you'd better marry her sorry little ass!' She stared at him whilst pointing her index finger at him in warning.

He chuckled at the thought, knowing that if- when he got her out of this alive, he would do a heck more than that.

They continued talking through his notes, her picking up on some of the unclear medical terms, before finally coming to the conclusion that they should check the alleyways around Castle's apartment for tyre tracks.

'They'd have to have had multiple men to take both of them so they obviously couldn't take them through the front door.'

Lanie quickly called Esposito and Ryan before confirming another suspicion.

'Eposito said the lab results came back from Perlmutter and the fibres found on Alexis's fire escape came back and they were from a jumper, a black one which obviously doesn't help. So someone was on the stairwell when they abducted Alexis. They found partials on the railing but it's going to take some time to identify them. So in the meantime, you and I are heading back to your place to look around. Got it?'

'Got it.

'Good. Let's go.'

Castle quickly grabbed his coat, before saying goodbye to Marcus, promising he'll be back soon and made his way quickly out the door, following Lanie to his house.

* * *

Alexis came out of the bathroom in a cheap, ripped pair of flannelette pyjama bottoms, trying to untangle her knotty wet hair unsuccessfully without a hairbrush to use.

'I've been thinking, why kidnap the both of us? Why not just one?'

Kate looked at her, 'Well, they told me extra persuasion but I'm not sure. To be honest, it's been almost 36 hours and in usual kidnapping or ransom cases, they would've killed us off by now.' She felt bad as the lie slipped through her teeth, but knew that if Alexis knew the truth, she would go into shock.

Alexis frowned in thought, 'What do they want then?'

'They kept saying something about a possession that the police had. But I don't remember anything in the investigation being taken into police custody. It must have been from a raid or investigation from other units or previous years.'

Alexis nodded before going over to the chess board and offering it to Kate, 'Wanna play?'

Kate smiled, 'Sure thing.'

They set up the board, Alexis white pieces and Kate black, and made themselves comfortable to start playing.

After a couple of minutes, the silence was killing Alexis, 'How about, whenever I take one of your pieces, you have to answer a question and vice versa for you.'

Kate smirked as she considered it, 'Ok.'

It took two moves before Alexis outsmarted her and her bishop took her pawn, 'Ok starting off with a simple one, favourite colour?'

'Purple.'

'Interesting.'

Kate could see the mischief crossing Alexis's face and quirked an eyebrow.

'What.' Alexis eyed her.

'Nothing.'

'Mhm, sure. You're like dad, always judging me on what my next move will be.'

Kate smirked before doing a couple of moves and taking one of her pawns.

Alexis's face drop as she realized Kate was messing with her, distracting her.

Kate pondered on her question before asking, 'Were you in the pool for your dad and I to get together?'

Alexis's face flushed red before answering guilty, 'Yes.'

'How much?'

'Ah ah ah, that's two questions.' Kate shook her head at Alexis's silliness.

After a couple of well-placed moves, Alexis gained control and took one of Kate's horses.

'Damn it.' Kate muttered to herself as Alexis rubbed her hands together, dramatically.

'Hmmm, oh, I got one, have you ever been engaged or married?'

Kate smiled before answering truthfully, 'Nope. I hope to be one day though,' Alexis shot her a cheeky grin, 'Although, I have been a bridesmaid six times.'

'Six? Wow, that's a fair few.'

'The last one was the worst, I was the only single girl in the room so I had to face the embarrassment of getting the bouquet.'

'Awkward…'

'Tell me about it.'

The chess moves continue until Alexis once again took a piece.

Kate cursed and Alexis just laughed, 'Again? Lucky me. Ok what else…..Oh yes I got one, When was the first moment you realised you were in love with my dad?'

Kate was stumped on this one, because she herself didn't know, 'I'm not sure. Obviously there's been an attraction since the start, but to pin point it would be really hard. Probably when he tried to save me and he told me loved me, that really messed my emotions right up. I was going to tell him my feelings but he then went with Gina to the Hamptons, so that was kind of a bust.' Kate rung her hands awkwardly.

Alexis chuckled nervously, 'Yeah that was an awkward vacation. Gina ended up leaving because Dad spent the whole time moping about you but she didn't know that. I did though.'

Kate sighed, 'That was a hard summer for the both of us.'

Alexis nodded before motioning her to continue the game.

Kate finally won a piece and pondered on what question to ask before coming up with one, 'What was your first impression of me?'

Alexis sat silent for a bit before coming up with her answer, 'You were strong, and very confidence. Courageous in standing up to people because you didn't care about what they thought. You had a dry sense of humour and what really impressed me was that you didn't care that dad was famous, you just cared that he got treated as he deserved, even if he was a dick.'

Kate nodded her head in agreement, 'Not bad, not bad.'

Alexis smiled at her evilly before conquering the game and defeating Kate.

Kate shook her head in surprise, 'You're evil, distracting my thoughts.'

Alexis stuck her tongue out before getting up to get Kate and herself a glass of juice each. The fridge creaked as she retrieved the juice and got two clean cups.

Kate felt her stomach tighten as the smell of the orange juice drifted towards her, making her queasy. Alexis approached her with the glass and Kate pushed her away, 'Urgh, that's going to make me puke. I feel like I'm going to throw up.' Kate stumbled to the opposite wall and Alexis put the cups down.

'That's probably because you haven't eaten in five hours. Fortunately I'm here to make sure you eat properly unlike at the precinct surviving on m'n'ms and potato chips.'

Kate stood up in dismissal and made her way to the fridge and retrieving the rest of the cold pasta.

'Good, now you should probably have a shower or a bath so we both don't end up stinking the place out.' Alexis clapped her hands and started to fluff around the room, cleaning up things here and there, trying to find something to do.

When Kate finished her meal, she cleaned her bowl and utensils and made her way into the bathroom, getting her towel for a shower.

She turned the shower knobs, putting the hot to extreme. She stripped quickly, not trying to waste any of the hot water as they had no idea how much they had. The scolding hot water burned her skin as she rubbed the old soap around her body, contemplating what Rick could be doing now.

_Probably looking for them_. She smiled at the thought; she missed him so bad it hurt. She knew Alexis felt the same and was glad she at least she had her for company.

Her emotions once again took over her, the worry for Alexis, for her, for _Rick_, came tumbling out of her and her legs gave way as the water poured over head of her. She brought her knees to her chest and let the tears flow.

She didn't know how long she sat there for, or even why she kept crying, but all the faces that she had ever known came back to her and the regret of not telling them, her dad, the guys, Lanie, Roy, Martha, _Rick_, that she loved them made her shrink even smaller into the worn out porcelain.

She eventually turned off the water, wrapping a towel around her and sat in the corner, thinking about everything, right into the wee hours of the morning.

* * *

Ok well just as a treat to you guys I got this chapter out two days after the last one because the idea came to me so quickly and I just HAD to write it down.

Please R&R!

C xx


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Hi all! I woke up one morning and BAM the reviews had rocketed which a lovely way to start the day :))

Also, 93 Followers and 20 Favourites! How awesome is that!? 28 Reviews as well! (**UPDATE well looking back now I have waaay more than that cause you guys are awesome so suck it past me mwahah)**

I'd like to take some time to acknowledge some of those feedback reviews:

**To everyone**: I'm surprised how much the Alexis/Kate twist surprised you but I thought it was a great idea because I love Alexis and want to see more of her and Kate bonding.

**saifos:** Agreed! Definitely should get more scenes!

**Michi: **I got two chapters out for you in a week, impressed :)?

**Phnxgrl: ** Wow! Thanks for reviewing so much! Yeah, the possession thing was an idea I had, bit confused on how to acknowledge what it is in the storyline, but I'll think of something :). It's hard to write Rick's hopelessness without him going over the top and not helping with the cases. The chess scene was so much fun to write, I might do something else like that.

Thank you so much for reading/reviewing because without you guys I would not be continuing this story

Here we go

* * *

Chapter 6

'Kate, hey Kate.'

Kate was roused from her sleep by Alexis shaking her shoulders, 'You might want to sleep on the mattress, otherwise you'll be stuck with the worst back ache.'

Kate yawned before wincing, Alexis was right. Her back groaned as she stood up off the old tiles and made her way back to the mattress.

She took off her towel and put on the old pair of pyjamas before lying down and stretching her aching muscles and bones out.

'Thanks Alexis, I wouldn't have been able to walk otherwise.'

Alexis sat at the table eating the almost stale cornflakes, reading an old worn out novel.

'That's ok, I've had to do it to dad a couple of times when he locks himself in a cupboard or something.'

Kate smiled and shook her head at the thought. Method writing went to the extremes when it came to Castle.

Alexis seem to struggle with the question as she closed her book, 'Hey Kate.'

'Mhm?'

'Could you, um teach me how to defend myself?'

Kate looked over at her in confusion, 'Huh?'

'I mean like how to fight people, how to defend myself from bad guys.'

Kate thought it over, it wasn't a bad idea. She could use some exercise and this could help them in future situations.

'That sounds like a good idea.' Kate smiled at her before standing up and stretching out her limbs.

Alexis grinned and put away her food before returning to stand in front of Kate.

'Ok well, usually in the force they teach you defence before attack but today I'll give you the basics for both.'

'Will it help me?'

'Yes. Now, usually when someone attacks you, they are taller and stronger. We can use this to our advantage-'

The next 4 hours were spent of Kate teaching Alexis how to find an opponent's weak spot, how to surprise her attacker, how to, if injured, use different objects on certain parts of her attackers body to knock them down. And finally, how to, after exercise, stretch out all her muscles and ligaments so they don't get damaged.

Alexis was puffing as she grabbed the old metallic water bottle and took a couple of gulps, then linking her hands behind her head, opening her chest. Her muscles were aching on the pressure she'd been put under but she knew the exercise was good for her. She turned to see Kate swaying on her feet, looking dizzy.

'Woah hey,' She caught her as Kate stumbled a bit, 'Are you ok?'

Kate's head lolled around, 'I think..I…need to s-sit down.' Alexis guided her over to their make shift bed before lying next to her.

Alexis looked at her, worried, 'A-are you ok?'

Kate was sweating for no reason, 'I-I don't know. I'm feeling kinda dizzy, but those exercises shouldn't be causing this.'

Alexis reached for her drink bottle, 'Here take some.'

Kate chugged back some water before groaning, 'My head feels as if an elephant is trying to sit on it.'

Alexis chuckled before looking around the room, 'Times like these you wish you had Tyenol.'

Kate's face had paled, 'I feel like I'm going to be sick.' She quickly stood up and made her way to the toilet bowl in a seemingly drunk manner.

The dry reaching was echoed throughout the room as Kate emptied her stomach of all the contents she'd ate for breakfast. Alexis followed her into the bathroom before kneeling behind her, holding her hair back and rubbing her back. Kate stomach ached as she emptied her stomach for the third time in 3 days.

Kate sat on her heels, her head falling into her heads, the unexplainable sobs rocking her body. Alexis retrieved a wet towel and wiped Kates forehead and mouth and Kate sat there in a shocked silence.

'This flu is terrible, I can't keep any food down.'

Alexis frowned, 'Maybe you haven't had enough protein or vitamins. There's a banana on the table which needs to be eaten.'

Kate nodded and smiled at her before slowly standing up and entering the larger room. She got the banana and returned to sit down next the Alexis on the mattress.

'Thanks.' She mumbled as he ate her way quickly through the banana, scoffing it down as the feeling of feeding her stomach seem to make her nausea settle.

Alexis looked over at her in concern, _if this is contagious, it's definitely not good for either of us_.

Before Alexis could say anything, the door burst open and the two guys once again approached them. Kate rolled her eyes as she was yanked to her feet roughly before being pulled harshly to the door.

She let them drag her as she had no energy, 'Well thanks for asking nicely.' She muttered sarcastically before shouting another sarcastic goodbye to Alexis over her shoulder before the doors closed.

* * *

Lanie and Castle arrived in one of the alleyways which surrounded his building, having already looked through three, the vents in the ground producing quite a horrid smell as they slowly walked along the alley, looking around for any signs of struggle.

Rick eyes lit up in hope as he found tire marks making a 'U' sign, 'Lanie! Here.'

'And here too.' Lanie pointed at the wall that the car had hit as it had reversed out.

Castle's mind kicked into gear as he tried to understand what had happen, 'So the car drove in, to meet the kidnappers-'

'Who pulled Alexis and Kate into the truck-'

'Before trying to make a 'u' turn in the alley and scraping the side of the car,' Rick clapped his hands as the hope in him grew, 'So we should have a look in the area for the car that matches the tyre prints and the white paint.'

Lanie smiled hopefully at him, 'I'll call the boys now.'

* * *

Rick entered the bull pen and found Ryan on the phone, 'Uh huh, yep, ok, thanks Karpowski.'

Rick approached Ryan's desk as he swivelled round on his chair.

'Talk to Espo, there was a white van that was seen on traffic cams and uniforms are currently trying to find a number plate for us,' Ryan quickly gulped back a bit of his coffee, 'I'm off to meet them now.'

Ryan quickly grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair and hurried over to the elevator.

Rick stood looking round the room before finally approaching their murder board or 'missing board' as the guys had dubbed it. He looked over the facts they had. White van, two victims, 50 hours ago. He wondered if the kidnappers had tried to contact them for ransom money, which Rick would pay, without even blinking.

Rick slowly made his way to his chair next to Beckett's desk. He breathed out deeply as he sat down in the chair, dejavu from all those years settling in, but unlike the other times, Beckett was not there to tell him about the case or flirt with him or ask him about Martha or Alexis. She was in trouble and really needed Castle.

He shook his head out of the thoughts and looked around. It was 4 o'clock in the afternoon and Castle already felt exhausted, all the emotional pressure and stress building on him. He looked around and out of the corner of his eye spotted an envelope which had been wedged in between the decoration of elephants Kate always had on her desk.

Rick carefully plucked the unknown envelope from the desk before surveying it. On the front were two printed words, _Richard Castle_. He flipped the envelope over but no return address was written. He looked around the room frantically to see if anyway had noticed anything.

He gulped nervously before gently sliding his thumb under the tab and sliding out the contents, trying to stay calm as he unfolded the crisp, untouched letter.

His jaw slackened as he read over the letter. He leaped out of the chair, hurrying to get his coat, brandishing the letter, 'Ryan! Lanie! Esposito! I've got something!'

* * *

A/N: So, what did ya think? This'll be my THIRD chapter in a week so I'm going at the VERY least give myself 4 days break. But if you have any ideas or comments about my story, I'm happy to listen. You can review or PM me :))))

Please R&R!

C xx

P.S I'm pissed that there was no episode this week, so Monday's _Secret Santa _episode better be good! (**UPDATE It was good!)**


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Up to chapter 7 already? Wow anyways, I really need to start making these chapters longer so I'm going to try and make this chapter at LEAST 2,000 long, I'll try

I know I said I'd have a break but who am I kidding? I just can't leave you guys hanging!

Anyways please R&R, the more reviews I get, the more motivated I am, you guys have been wonderful!

Hope you like it!

**UPDATED 10/1/2013**

C xx

* * *

Chapter 7

Rick felt as if his heart were skipping inside his body, at least he knew they were alive, or the person whoever wrote the letter said they were. The thought that they were still out there gave him so much energy to find them he couldn't contain it. _No wonder Kate said he was an eight-year-old on a sugar rush._

Rick had already decided that as soon as he saw Kate, he was going to tell her he loved her, a million times. A billion times. A billion million times. Then he was going to ask her to move in and never let her go. The more this mess kept proceeding, the more he felt as if half of his heart had run away, destroying him emotionally and physically, so much.

As for Alexis, he really wouldn't care if she decided to stay at home for the rest of her life. But, knowing Alexis, she would argue refutably so Castle would just settle for her Skyping him every moment in her spare time. Or calling him. Or texting. Or all of the above.

Rick quickly paused and turned on his heels before sprinting back to the phone on Ryan's desk, sliding the last couple of metres on the old floor boards before quickly jamming the phone in the crook of his shoulder and ear.

'Come on, Come on!' He muttered whilst he punched in Esposito's mobile number, listening to the dial, growing increasingly annoyed at the length of time it took him to pick up.

He looked at his watch. _4.30_. Not many of the cops were remaining as it was a Saturday afternoon and most of them had tomorrow off. He couldn't believe how they could just continue with their everyday lives whilst one of their own was missing.

That was when he knew what he was going to do, get a radioactive spider to bite him so that so that he would have super strength and he could fight off anyone that tried to hurt his family. Rick frowned, _Castle stop being an idiot! Serious situation here!_

Wait, Kate wasn't his family! _Let's be serious here_, _who am I kidding? Of course she is, you know that by this time next year we'll be married!_

Leaving the worry and the stress behind him, his mind wandered. Kate in a gorgeous wedding gown, walking down the aisle towards him. Kate, lying next to him in _their_ bed, rubbing her 4 month pregnant stomach with a soft smile on her face.

Who was he kidding? _He had to admit he'd thought about it a lot more than once about having a family with Kate. Miniature Caskett babies running around everywhere. _It made his heart swell at the thought. But he knew that it would be at least another year or two before Kate was ready for that child commitment.

'Hello?' Rick jumped when he heard the voice in the ear piece.

'Espo! You have to come back! The kidnappers sent me a letter!'

He could almost hear the frown on Esposito's face, 'What! How?'

'I don't know, it was just sitting there when I came to Beckett's desk.'

'You mean someone came into the building? And no one saw them? What the hell!'

Rick was springing on his toes as the anticipation and hope were building inside of him, 'The letter could give us some fingerprints, so should I take it to Lanie?'

'Yeah you do that, I'll call Ryan and tell him to meet us back at the precinct.'

'Sweet.' Rick jammed the phone back in its cradle before hurdling himself to the elevator, flailing limbs everywhere, racing to jam the button to head to the morgue.

* * *

Castle swiftly entered the morgue, almost running to find Lanie leaning over the table, tweezers in hand, her face contorted in concentration.

'Lanie!' Castle was gasping in the doorway as he held the precious letter using his sleeves as to not put any more fingerprints on them. Lanie raised an eyebrow at his appearance.

'Wha-'

'I received a letter from the kidnappers!' Recognition dawned on Lanie's face and she quickly dropped her things, grabbing a pair of latex gloves, taking the letter off Rick.

She unfolded the letter and started to read

_To whom it concerns (Richard Castle),_

_We haven't met before but the two people I currently hold captive seem to be quite close to you. Because of this I'm hoping you could help my situation. I am in dire need of something the police have and was hoping you could retrieve them for me. To what my possessions are, Michael Dolan will be able to help you with that. In the meantime, I will keep you informed on how your kidnapped friends/family are doing._

_Keep in touch,_

_O'Reilly_

'Well, I'll be damned.'

'I know, this is really bad. I've gone and gotten Kate and Alexis smack bang in the middle of a _mob war_.' Rick sat down in the swivel stool, his head in his hands.

'Hey hey hey,' Lanie stood over him, her hands on her hips, 'No way in hell did you get them involved in this.' She brought her head down to his level, 'You did not put them in this situation.'

Rick opened his mouth, to protest and argue but knew it was pointless, Lanie would win the argument anyway, 'Okay.' Lanie looked at him with a pointed look before putting the letter onto her desk, spraying the illuminative spray over the paper. Her face was screwed in concentration as she zoned in her work, but was interrupted when she spotted Castle out of the corner of her eye starring at her intently.

'Castle, what are you doing?'

He paused with a confused look on his face, 'Waiting for prints.'

Lanie rolled her eyes, 'Well, it's going to take me at least another hour or so, go upstairs, the boys should be back.'

As they were speaking, both of them ran into the room, looking at the two of them.

"Where's the letter?' Ryan gasped out.

They read over the letter, discussing the points in the case before the three guys left Lanie to do her job and they quickly took the elevator up.

The ride was silent as everyone was deep in thought.

They got back to the 'missing' board to update it and Esposito started to shift through the precincts inner security cameras. You could see the fury emitting from Esposito as he angrily clicked through the videos, mad that he had let someone slip into his precinct.

'Okay I've narrowed it down to 10 civilians in the videos so we can check out each of them.' Esposito turned around in his chair with a frown on his face.

Ryan and Castle glanced at him, 'What's up with you?' Ryan looked at him, confusion.

'I'm…just so god. Damn. Angry!' He scrunched up a piece of paper and hurdled it into his waste basket with so much force, the bin fell over with a loud clang.

'Hey, this is not your fault. Don't blame yourself.' Castle felt a sense of dejavu from his early conversation with Lanie as he put his hand on Espositos shoulder, but the guy shrugged it off and stalked over to the break room.

Ryan and Castle glanced at each other, 'I'll go talk to him, he just needs to cool down. This kidnapping is taking its toll on everyone. I'll also call the DA to tell them to bring Dolan in for questioning.' Ryan followed Esposito out of the room and once again Castle was alone in the bull pen.

Castle was lost in thought as he went over the missing board, drumming his fingers on the wooden desk. His pain and worry had stepped aside for the smallest of time as he concentrated on the information in front of him.

_Okay so the van takes them away, holds them hostage for 2 days and then informs me. O'Reilly needs something that we have, that Dolan knows what it is. This is so weird_

Rick cocked his head, _if I weren't personally involved in this case, it would be awesome._

Rick blew out a breath before glancing down at the civilians from the video. He took a double take when he recognized one of the men. He'd seen him around his apartment before. And the coffee shop. Thinking about it, he'd seen this guy in a couple of places.

He jumped up and ran to the break room, doing a little skip as he skidded around the corner.

* * *

'We meet again Katherine.'

Kate gave him a dry grin before turning back to her nails, trying to convince this guy that she wasn't interested. Which she wasn't because she was pissed. They sat in silence as he studied her, looking for any signs.

He raised an eyebrow, 'Do you have any questions?'

Kate slammed her hands down on the table, standing up and towering over him, 'Questions? Bah,' She scoffed, 'I have a whole bucketful of questions! What are we doing here? Why aren't we dead yet? Why both of us, and not just me? Who do you work for?'

A smile slowly crept onto his face, chilling Kate to the bone, 'All in due time my dear but first, I sent your dear boyfriend Ricky a letter. He should have received it by now so the game is going to start getting interesting.'

Kate shook her head, 'Is there any way you can give a message to him to give him proof that we're ok? Or maybe to make it easier,' She crossed her arms, 'Send Alexis back to him.'

'Ah not going to happen. But I can tell you that as soon as I get my- item of interest back, I will release the young girl back to her family. '

Kate eyed him, 'Promise?' She hoped so badly for Alexis that this man was telling the truth.

He grinned that creepy smile at her, 'Pinky swear.'

Kate glared at him before moving to the door, 'Well I'm going back. I don't know where we are and am not abandoning Alexis so there's no point in escaping,' She paused for a moment before swivelling on her heels, 'Oh and by the way, we'll need more food and supplies so make sure to tell Crabbe and Goyle out there to bring me some god damn chocolate!' She swung the door open before marching straight past the bodyguards and making her way to the room which Alexis and her had been residing for a couple of days.

She walked briskly, feeling the thugs follow her. She tapped her foot impatiently before one of them pinned in the code for the lock and pushed the door open, revealing Alexis who'd been pacing the floor.

Kate was fuming, mainly because she herself couldn't figure out how to answer those questions, she didn't know why but her mind seemed so clouded at the moment, like she had forgotten something and that's all her brain could concentrate.

Kate eyed the men as they watched her storm in, swiftly closing and locking the door behind him.

'Gee thanks you sons of b-'

'You ok?'

She glanced at Alexis who was looking at her nervously. 'I'm fine. Just these stupid people holding us hostage are being assholes!' She shouted the last part, over her shoulder as she cast the door a scathing look.

Alexis gave her an amused eyebrow raise, reminding her of Rick, 'Gave them a bit of Detective Beckett?'

She grinned, 'Sure did.'

Alexis raised her hand for a high five, which Kate returned. A good feeling settled over both of them as the fear began to drain out of their minds.

'You know, I've got to say, this situation isn't as bad as I'd thought it be.' Alexis thought out loud.

'Yeah well they haven't hurt us yet, so I assume they aren't really here to hurt us which is always a positive.'

Alexis chuckled, 'Certainly beats psych lectures.' Kate was glad Alexis was trying to make light of the situation and was also glad that Alexis didn't cave in to pressure.

She could tell that after Alexis's vent yesterday, she was feeling much better and that she was handling the situation much better now that her mind was some what clear of her frustrations.

Kate smiled genially at the girl before her face dropped, the nausea sweeping over her again, racing to the bathroom and hurtling herself onto the ground and vomiting into the toilet.

Alexis stared at her in confusion, Kate had only eaten a banana this morning and that was the only thing she'd kept down in days.

Alexis went to the fridge opening it and surveying the food. She wasn't actually looking at the food but staring into a refrigerator often helped her think at home so she was trying.

Usually ice cream did the trick too but obviously in this situation, the fridge had to do.

And then, _it clicked_.

No. way.

Alexis didn't know what to think but if it was what she thought it was, she didn't know whether to be excited, shocked, happy or nervous for what lay in store.

She knew Kate and father had been together for about 3 months or so, but she also forgot to count the three and a half years before that, in which they were together but they didn't know it. She chuckled at the thought. Some people are so stupid when it comes to love.

She wasn't sure what Kate's reaction to Alexis's theory would be. She knew her dad would be over the moon but Kate was in a job that could harm the possibility. The situation they were in would certainly not help Kate's situation, _we have to get her out as quick as possible!_

Worry once again settled into Alexis as she realized the precautious position that would be soon taking place.

She slowly made her way to the bathroom where Kate was sitting, miserably. Kate glanced at her, a frown of confusion on her face as Alexis came to stand in the doorway.

Kate looked at her, trying to decipher her facial expressions, Alexis almost regarding her cautiously 'What?'

'Nausea, vomiting, headaches, nightmares, high emotions.'

Kate was still silent as she sat in confusion.

Alexis looked at her pointedly, 'Do you not know where I'm going with this?'

Kate slowly shook her head as Alexis rolled her eyes, muttering to herself.

'Kate, I think you might be pregnant.'

* * *

A/N: Dum dum DUUUMMM! CLIFFHANGER! Anyway how'd you like the twist? I was going to wait till Chp 10 to do the twist but I just couldn't wait! Obviously some of you guys were smart enough to figure out Kate's condition! I'm going to have soooo much fun writing future chapters!

P.S Martha's in the next chapter I'm ashamed to admit I almost forgot about her! How the hell could I do that!

P.P.S My 'O' key is broken and is really bugging me!

Please R&R!

Cxx


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: You guys, may I just repeat it, are AMAZINGG! Thank you so much for keeping up with my story, I wouldn't be here without you guys!

A very special shout out to **Phnxgrl **for helping me out with all the wonderful ideas we have worked on and all the contributions she has made to the story! Check out her own stories!

I've been quite good this week haven't I? How many chapter did I write this week? 3! That's right!

So next week is my last week of school, won't have a computer to write on till CHRISTMAS (so long away in fanfiction days *sigh*) so I'm giving you my FOURTH chapter this week!

I'll write as soooonn as I can!

Please R&R!

Hope you like chp 8!

* * *

**UPDATE!** I got pointed out about the fact that CIA don't work on their home soil so I changed the agency to home land security!

* * *

Chapter 8

Kate's head quickly shot up to look in Alexis's direction, 'Wha-what?'

Alexis rolled her eyes at Kate's cluelessness, 'You know for being a detective, you're very vague sometimes. Yes pregnant! It would explain all the symptoms.'

Kate heart quickened at the thought. _How could she have not seen this coming? All the signs were there. God she was so stupid, all those years of observational training and she didn't even notice._

'Of course it could all just be a coincidence.' Alexis added quickly.

Kate nodded her head at that thought, but she knew deep down though, that voice inside her head calling to her, that she was indeed pregnant.

The sense of dejavu on this bathroom floor was getting to her head, explaining all the unanswered questions. Kate leant against the sink with her back, mulling over the situation in her head in silence, the worry and concern building inside of her.

Alexis saw the anxiety flash across Kate's face, 'Are you ok?'

Kate started to blurt out nervously, her mental wall starting to build up again, 'I'm not ready for this, your dad and I haven't even discussed our future together. We are-well we were just taking this day by day. And now, I could become a mother and I don't know how to be one. Especially in the situation we are in, so many things could go wrong and Rick isn't here and all I want is to see him-'

'Kate, stop thinking like that,' Alexis knelt down next to Kate, putting a hand on her shoulder, 'Everyone knows that you and my dad will end up together forever eventually. Just looking at the two of you together, the chemistry and love between you two is overpowering, you guys wouldn't be able to break up. I don't even know how you're doing it now, being apart from each other so long.'

Kate gave her a small smile,' You think we'll end up together?'

'Of course! You guys are awesome together!'

Kate smile slowly dropped, 'What about…' She looked at her stomach and she slowly placed her hands there, her mind delving deep into thought.

Alexis chuckled, 'To be honest, I think dad always wanted more kids but was always trying to find the right women to have a family with, obviously my mother wasn't the one but he wouldn't change his time with me for anything. And the problem you think you'll have with being a mother? I think you'd be an awesome mother Kate.'

Kate felt the psychology training that Alexis had been learning at school starting to show, the reassuring words making Kate feel less nervous by the second, 'Really?'

'Hell yeah! And I might get a little brother or sister, who will be the luckiest kid around.'

Kate smiled, imagining the child in her mind in silence, before shaking her head out of it and slowly standing up and slowly making her way into the other room, 'I just feel this is all going so fast, I've only been with your dad for a couple of months-'

'Please,' Alexis looked at her, leaning against the frame of the door, arms crossed, 'You and dad have been together for nearly four years.'

'But I-'

'No buts. You might have been in other relationships but deep down you knew my dad was the one for you.'

Kate bowed her head in defeat, studying her linked hands as she twiddled her fingers.

Alexis asked her once more, 'Are you ok?'

Kate blew out a breath, 'If you weren't here Alexis, I'd have no idea what to do. Thank you, so much. My mind is going bezerk and I'm not usually this touchy feely so I apologize in advance.' Kate beckoned Alexis in for a hug.

She returned, 'No problem. You're an amazing person, a great friend to have around.'

Kate looked to Alexis, tears filling her eyes. She desperately tried to wipe them away, 'And now I'm crying. Great. God damn you possibly pregnant hormones.'

'You'll be fine, now we definitely have to make sure you get fed and well rested, and no excuses now.'

Kate smiled, 'Deal. Ok, well I'll try and get those guys attention so we can ask them for more food.'

Alexis started to walk at her concerned, 'Kate now that you're pregnant-could be pregnant, most likely are pregnant, you can't just go all out cop all the time. If you get hurt you'll never forgive yourself.'

Kate thought about that, 'Good point, I'll avoid fighting at all costs but I'm starving and at the moment, nothing can stand between me and food.'

Alexis shook her head and went to go clean the bathroom in silence.

Kat banged on the door, 'Oi can one of you come here? I need to speak to someone!'

She waited for a few moments before she heard footsteps and retreated from the door a little bit.

The door swung open to reveal one of the thugs, 'Yes?' He harsh eyes stared her down as his gravelly voice gave an African accent.

She crossed her arms, 'If you guys aren't going to give us any more answers, I'd appreciate it if you could give us some more food because to be frank, I'm bloody starving.' She felt like laughing as she felt this new side of her come out, this sassy side which was obviously being caused by hormones. _Could be hormones, you don't know if you're pregnant for sure._

The man regarded her with a raised eyebrow before closing the door and exiting.

Kate huffed before yelling, 'Well it's your fault if I starve to death, and I will haunt your grave if you do!' She threw her arms in the air in annoyance before entering the bathroom to help Alexis.

* * *

'Guys! I know who the guy is!'

The pair who had previously been fighting turned around quickly to greet Castle.

'Who?'

'That guy, I've seen him around my apartment before.' He pointed to the 30 old or so man with brown hair and tanned skin.

Esposito immediately snatched it up, 'I'll go get units to pick him up and bring him in.'

Ryan shook his head, sending an exasperated look towards his partner before turning back to Castle, 'I've got to go call the DA to send over Dolan so we can question him, as for the murderer in the last case who worked for the O'Reilly, we're giving him a chance to help us out by giving us information on the gang.'

Castle shook his head, 'That's not going to happen in a million years.'

Ryan shrugged his shoulders, 'We can try.'

They made their way into the bull pen but not before noticing three men in suits exit the elevator and make their way straight to Gates' office, their crisply ironed suits and briefcases giving off an official and cold feeling.

'Woah,' Castle muttered, 'Who are those guys?'

Ryan nodded his head towards his desk, 'I don't know and at the moment I don't care, we have a job to do and I don't need anything else to make my week any less stressful.

Castle nodded his head in agreement before parting with Ryan and headed over to Beckett's missing board to update their details.

_Ok_, he thought to himself, _two gangs, O'Reillys and Dolans gang. Both fighting over this possession and in doing so the O'Reilly gang kill Dolan long-time friend. Dolan fights back and ends up getting taken in by the police, the possession also getting taken in. O'Reilly then need to get the polices attention, so they kidnap Alexis and Beckett._ He swallowed at the thought, he had to think straight if he wanted to see them again._ So, I should probably go to the property department downstairs to look at the evidence from our crime scene with the priest. Then once we get that, we can trade in Alexis and Kate. Done deal_.

Castle jumped up, ready to head to the evidence storage when one of the suited men came up behind him, grabbed him roughly by the arm and started to drag him into one of the meeting rooms surrounding the bull pen.

'Hey wait a second-' He started to protest but saw that Ryan and Esposito who had previously about to exit the building, but got intercepted, were also being dragged into the same room.

The men plonked the three of them in chairs before standing by their front man, quietly inspecting the two cops and the writer.

'Kevin Ryan, Javier Esposito and Richard Castle. Your team has been giving me grief ever since you guys got involved with this case.'

The three of them glanced at each other, confused. The man saw that and proceeded to explain.

'I don't believe we have met before, my name is Agent Fowler and these are my team, Agents Houser and Michaelson. We were assigned the O'Reilly case about three years ago and until a couple of weeks ago, all was going smoothly. Now, we have two kidnapped people and the O'Reilly gang about to blow the top off everything and disappear.'

Fowler looked at them, judging the reactions from all three of them.

Esposito spoke up, 'Exactly what agency are you from?'

'Homeland Security.'

'Cool.'

'Castle, shut up.'

'As I was saying, everything was going smoothly. But now, I've been given orders to let you continue with getting your friends back and you are to assist us.'

Ryan looked at him with a puzzled expression, 'How? You guys are Homeland Security, we're just NYPD.'

'Because the whole Dolan gang is a fake, set up to help lure the Irish mob into revealing their scheme. So far, we believe that they do not possess this information and just believe us to be an opposing gang. We had a double agent working within the O'Reilly gang who has been supplying us with this intel. What they do know is that the NYPD has linked them to the murder of the priest, one of our agents who was murdered. They also know that you hold the key to their downfall.'

'Is that the possession they keep talking about?'

'Indeed so. In doing so, they kidnapped two of your closest friends so they could make the trade, knowing you would do so. But, you can't because if they get a hold of it, they will vanish and three years of hard work will go down the drain.'

'Can't you just take them down if you know what they have done?'

'Unfortunately not. We don't actually know who the ring leader of the O'Reilly gang is and if we just take down the middle of the rung, the boss will flee. We were going to find him after Dolan and the O'Reilly representative had their face off and Dolan would've returned the _possession_ to the O'Reilly and our double agent had told us that the boss was in town. But unfortunately things got out of hand and now the NYPD possesses the O'Reilly member and our HomeLand agent. We have gotten our agent back but now we have to take down the ring leader.'

Ryan nodded his head, 'That's why the DA's office wouldn't let me interview Dolan.'

'Yes.'

The three sat in silence, mulling over this new information had settled in before Castle spoke up, 'Will Alexis and Kate be ok?'

Fowler nodded, 'They're fine. Our agent believes they don't wish to harm them but if worst comes to worst their murder will be on the table. For now, they are being stored somewhere in the outskirts of the city but we cannot touch the place as the O'Reillys are currently residing there and if we even as much as lay a finger in the place, they will kill your hostages.'

Castle blew out a deep breath before closing his eyes, half in relief, half in exhaustion. He didn't know how much more he could handle before he broke down.

'So what exactly is this, _possession_ everyone is fighting over.'

Fowler nodded at Agent Michaelson who retrieved his briefcase, lay it out on the table, opening and placing a USB stick in front of the three men.

Castle looked at them, shocked, 'You mean that's it?'

Fowler raised his eyebrow, 'That's it? Do you know what is on this USB stick? All the files, receipts or transactions the O'Reilly gang have ever made, whether it is to do with drugs, money, murders or hits. Every single one. This USB stick could put over a hundred men in prison, each of them receiving 25-life.'

Ryan whistled before picking it up to inspect it, 'Pretty important stuff.'

'Indeed, that's why we need your help in continuing to keep up the act and contact us if you need anything,' He pulled a card out of his inside pocket of his suit jacket, 'Here's the number you can call to reach me and when you hear the dial tone say this combination, _blue sparrow 10549_, that will pass the clearance and will contact me. Good day to you all'

The men proceeded to pack up their things before marching out back to the elevator, the rest of the people in the precinct watching curiously after them.

The room was quiet as the three of them sat in a semi-confused state.

'Well,' Castle broke the ice, 'That certainly was a change in events.'

Ryan and Esposito nodded in agreement before getting up, and retrieving a much needed coffee.

* * *

A/N: Homeland Security? Serious stuff happening over at the NYPD. I had heaps of fun writing this chapter! Thanks again to **phnxgrl** for helping me with ideas! I would have been a bit lost without them!

**UPDATED One of my awesome as reviewers posted a mistake here! Thanks JustAWriterWannaBe! **

Please R&R! It really makes my day when you do!

C xx


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Awesome, just awesome! Your feedback is just amazing and the reviews make me sit up and get excited, it's been nearly a WEEK since I've started this story and 10,000+ later BAM awesomness! Aren't Caskettiers (what do we call ourselves?) the best fandom/shippers in the world? And celebrating the best show ever, im excited because their 100th episode is approaching soon YAYAY!

Also, I'm so sorry, I have no computer, couldn't update but have managed to access technology and get this up JUST FOR YOU GUYS!

Oh dear lord I did it again! Martha will definitely be in this chapter, I love Martha, she's such a spunky character!

Please R&R!

* * *

Chapter 9

'Richard!' Castle's head shot up as he head his mother's voice, brushing past the two detectives to find him mother, distraught in the middle of the precinct.

Her face was frantic as she approached him, 'I'm so sorry, the flight was late and I got your message! Is Alexis ok? What about Beckett? Are they safe? What-'

'Mother! Mother, calm down, everything's fine, Ryan and Esposito are on the case right now, looking for them!' Martha took a deep breath but glanced at something over his shoulder. Castle turned to see the pair staring at them, trying to work out the situation before catching wind and flurrying to their desks.

'I wish I was here sooner, are they ok?'

Castle nodded his head, 'They are being held hostage but they're ok, there's a-' He stopped himself before he could continue, not knowing the procedure of Homeland Security. His mother looked at him sceptically as he pondered on what to say.

'Yes?'

'They're ok. That's all that matters.'

'Of course it! But it'd be better if they were safe a home with us. Now you get back to your work and I'll get back to mine, praying for their safety. And maybe some therapeutic online shopping. Now you concentrate I want them back safe and sound as soon as possible. Call me every hour on progress!' She gave him one last hug and her majestic words of wisdom before departing the precinct in a flurry of flaxen hair and bright pink knew that to someone on the outside, Martha looked as if she didn't really care about the situation but to him he knew that, as a way of coping, Martha liked to do the things she loved, like shopping, to get her mind of an anxious situation. Castle shook his head before setting his mind on to course, searching cameras on Espositos computer for the description of the van, writing down any observations he saw.

Time seemed to fly by as his fingers flew across the keyboard, typing in description after description finally coming up with the model of the car. He then took it across to the NYPD computer system to search for missing/stolen/unlicensed cars. The bar popped up saying it would take an hour and a half to complete.

Castle felt like punching the computer in frustration. _Why did everything around here move so slow when he felt everything should be moving full speed ahead. I mean come on, one of their own policewomen was missing and barely anyone was doing anything about it_

He angrily scooped up his worn out coffee mug before trudging his way to the break room for what seemed to be the hundredth time today. He could feel the anger and frustration streaming from him and the surrounding police officers stood out of his way, their faces possessing looks of understanding grieve.

He continued to the coffee machine, turning it on before putting in the necessary instructions and the familiar whirring of the machine seemed to comfort him, just by the littliest.

'Hey Castle.'

He glanced up to see Lanie in the doorway, a sense of dejavu washing over him, 'Hey Lanie, any news?'

She sighed as she joined him at the machine with her mug, ' The boys have gone to go get that O'Reilly gang member from the last case. He should be here any minute.'

Castle nodded his head as he closed his eyes and leaned against the wall.

'You ok?'

Castle pursed his lips before muttering, 'I just want them to be safe at home with me.'

Lanie reached out to put a hand on his shoulder, 'They will be. I know it's been nearly two weeks but at least the Homeland Security-'

Castle shrugged her hand off, 'They're doing jack all Lanie and you know it!' He spat out, 'You're thinking the same thoughts I am. Why aren't they doing more? You know, I'm pretty sure Kate and Alexis would be safe and sound with us right now if they were bothered to get off their asses and do some work!' He kicked the trashcan and it spun onto it's side with a loud clang, causing all the detectives in the bull pen to glance in their direction.

Castle collapsed on the couch, 'I'm tired Lanie. It's so hard trying to keep up with all this when the two people I need the most aren't here. Alexis, my little girl, we've been through everything together. A-a-and Kate, Oh Kate-'

He broke off, letting his head fall into his hands, wiping his eyes with the heels of his hands.

Lanie brought their coffees over before taking a seat next to Castle, 'I know this must be so, so hard on you Castle, but you're doing the best that you can and they know that.'

He was silent for a moment before he whispered, 'Did you know I was going to tell Kate that I love her,' Lanie head shot up, 'I know that she already knows I do, as does it seems everyone in this precinct, but I was going to tell her officially. We had just started something wonderful, something that held so much promise and now…' His voice died down as silence overtook him and Lanie started to rub him back soothingly, sitting in shock at how open Castle was being to her.

'You will find her Rick, and then you can tell her just how much you love her. Oh and just to be clear, if you hurt my girl, I ain't afraid to hide your body after the boys have been through you.' She heard a small chuckle come out of him.

'Thanks Lanie.'

'You're welcome. Now, get your ass off this couch and go find find her.'

'Will do.

Lanie exited the room before pulling up short, 'Castle.'

Rick hurried to stand next to her, and also pulled short.

Ryan and Esposito had exited the elevator, followed by the slimy gang member, also accompanied by four police men. His hands and feet were handcuffed together as they slowly lead him into the interrogation room where Ryan and Espo were soon to question him.

Castle saw his opportunity and excused himself from Lanie and hurried over to follow Ryan into the room.

'Woah woah, Castle, na ah.'

'Come on Ryan, I'll sit in the corner-'

'No, you can watch this one.'

'Why? I'm just as a part of this as much as you are-'

'But you're not a cop who has a gun, now go watch in the other room.'

Castle bowed his head in defeat before opening the viewing room door and entering the room by himself. He couldn't believe how everyone was treating him lately, like he was a child. He knew just as much about this case as Ryan and Esposito and now…

Just as the questioning was starting to commence, Castle heard shouting coming from the bull pen. He opened the door to see a man yelling at one of the officers in a rage.

Castle jogged over to the man, reaching out a shoulder to calm the man down, but he turned around and to Castle's shock…

'Jim?'

Jim looked so scared in that moment, but anger also fumed from him, 'Where's my daughter and how come none of you found it important enough to contact me?'

* * *

The sun's rays from the cracked window streamed in and created a patch of sun which Kate was currently residing in. The warmth seemed to calm her nerves as Kate's thought seem to run a thousand miles per hour.

She looked over to Alexis who was sleeping silently in the corner, her hair strung over her face, tangled from not having brushed it. She noticed the significant weight lose that Alexis had started to develop, partially from their lack of food. She frowned and bit her lip as this information was put on the high list of worries in the corner of her mind.

Kate's hand ran unconsciously across her stomach as she calmed herself down, trying to avoid the nervous and unsettling thoughts and images that were flying through her mind.

Kate closed her eyes and rested her head against the wall behind her, trying to conjure something that would help her calm down.

She realized what she was actually doing and looked down at her hand, pausing mid action. She knew that if there was a reason for hope in this situation, this miracle was it. Although she probably would've rather had it occur about a year from now, she couldn't help but feel that she might think it was too soon, but that nagging voice in the back of mind was telling her, this was right.

She took a deep breath, _Hey there, I'm Kate, your mother. You probably aren't even there now but if you are, your daddy and I love you very much. Even if he doesn't know you exist, he's out there trying to find us. Just hang in there ok? We'll get you out._

Alexis's breath began to quicken in her sleep and her body began to twitch. Her face was screwed up in confusion and she started to whimper.

Kate quickly crawled over to her, 'Hey Alexis,' She started to shake her to try and wake her up, 'Alexis, wake up, you're having a bad dream.'

Alexis gasped as she woke up, panting as she tried to gather her bearings. Kate sat back a bit so Alexis could find herself.

'You ok?' Kate looked at her with concerned eyes.

Alexis nodded and propped herself up against the wall next to the mattress, 'J-Just a bad dream.'

'Do you want to talk about it?'

She shook her head, 'I'm fine, just a bit rattled.'

Kate eyed her suspiciously, 'Ok, but I'm right her if you wanna talk about it.' Kate stood up and headed to the bathroom to grab the water bottle to fill it up.

Alexis bit her lip as the urge to spill the beans seemed to be on the tip of her tongue, 'Well maybe..'

Kate smiled in understanding and brought the full water bottle back and gave it to her. Alexis took it gladly and drank a large amount before taking a deep breath.

'It was you and me standing by ourselves, and then these men came out. They grabbed you and pulled you away into the darkness and I was yelling for them to come back, yelling for you but you couldn't hear me. My legs wouldn't move and I tried to run after you. Then suddenly you were there, you were dead.'

Kate brought her in for a hug in a compassionate and understanding way. She knew what these dreams felt like, especially after she'd been shot. The dreams she'd had had kept her awake for months and she could relate to the girl next to her.

'Hey it's ok Al-'

Alexis cut her off, 'Kate I'm sorry, here I am complaining about a stupid nightmare when I'm the one supposed to be taking care of you and an unborn human being. What the hell am I doing?' Alexis stood up and harshly brushed the tears from her eyes, 'Do you need anything? Water? Food?'

Kate looked at her seriously, 'What I need you to do is calm down and let me help you.'

Alexis sat back down slowly and resumed her spot next to Kate.

Kate sighed before coming up with an idea, 'How bout this? You let me help you every now and again and if it makes you feel better, you can take care of me a little.'

Alexis pondered this, 'Deal. Let's just forget that the last ten minutes never happened.'

Kate opened her mouth to argue but a ruckus at the door interrupted her.

The door suddenly flung open and both Kate and Alexis jumped in surprise as an unknown man walked in the room with two large bags, closing the door behind him. He then turned around and proceeded to put both bags on the ground.

'Who are you?' Kate stormed in the room, taking her defensive stance with her arms crossed.

He looked up at her and gave her a grin, 'Names Rhyson.' Kate detected the Irish accent and regarded him warily.

He continued as he watched her cop instincts kick in, 'And what are you doing in here?'

'Come to discuss the terms of your capture and to give you the supply of food you oh so kindly asked for.'

He then glanced at the door and dragged Kate into the bathroom, Alexis standing up, 'Hey what are you doin-'

'Ssh!' He motioned for her to follow him as he glanced at the door before letting go of Kate's arm and standing in front of them.

'Can't have anyone listening in.' He whispered, 'Agent Grayson at your service.'

Kate still held a defensive stature, 'Code?'

'2108 Blue sparrow.'

'Which department?' Kate shot back at him quietly.

'Homeland.'

'Hmm.' Kate looked at him for a moment, 'Why are we here?'

'Ransom.'

Kate nodded, _makes sense_. 'How long for?'

'Not sure.'

Kate was about to ask him another question but the door flung open and Grayson knelt quickly and pretended to fix the pipes. The man at the door didn't notice his act and rose an eyebrow at the situation.

'-Stop ya complainin' and ye whining!' Grayson yelled at Kate, putting his accent on thickly before pushing the two women out of the way and exiting.

'Women nowadays, couldn't even get a blimey word in before tha' lass started te complain!' Grayson marched past the man as he shook his head, the door slamming behind them.

Alexis turned back to Kate, 'What, on earth, is going on here?'

Kate shrugged her shoulders, 'I have no clue but do you know what? I don't even care.' Kate made her way into the other room, leaving a confused Alexis in her wake.

'What?'

Kate grinned in excitement and quickly produced the must wanted chocolate bars out of the bag, 'Nothing that chocolate can't help!'

Alexis chuckled and shook her head before catching the bar that Kate had thrown her and started to devour it slowly, savouring the taste.

* * *

A/N: So how was it? You guys would be so proud of me, I've already planned out the next 6 CHAPTERS! MIND BLOWN! I know I haven't been able to post but I haven't got a computer to type up on and am currently on a relatives computer (that's how dedicated I am) Have a Merry Christmas if I don't get back to you by then!

Please R&R

C xx


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Ok with Christmas approaching I wanted to get one more chapter in just because I felt bad for leaving you guys hanging!

Also, yesterday I'd just watched the dual _How I Met Your Mother _episode (which was AMMAAZZZIIINNGGG BTW like best episode evverr) and the song at the end was sooo good so whilst I was writing this, I was listening to _Let Your Heart Hold Fast_ by Fort Atlantic. Such a simple song yet so effective. Please listen to it!

Hope you like it and merry Christmas everyone!

**UPDATED 10/1/2013**

Hello my pretties! Long time no post! Anyways, the timeline for the kidnapping so far goes like this:

Chp1- 3 hrs after the kidnapping

Chp4- 1 day after kidnapping

Chp6- 2 days after kidnapping

Chp10- **10 days **after kidnapping (I know it's a big jump but it fits with the storyline!)

Moving on...

C xx

* * *

Chapter 10

Jim's emotions were running high as Castle saw the frantic look on his face, 'Why did no one come and get me?'

In that moment Castle really understood the pain and worry Jim must have been experiencing all these years whilst Kate had been in the police force, saving people's lives. Although Kate might say that she's ok, she often forgot to realize that by putting herself in danger, she was putting so much stress on her father. Jim didn't even know how to cope, especially as a recovering alcohol addict.

Castle rested a hand on Jim shoulder, 'We tried to call you but you weren't answering-'

'I was on a fishing trip with mates but one phone call doesn't cut it!'

Jim continued to yell at Castle before he had enough, he was in as much pain as Jim, even more. His anger was pent up and he was hoping he wouldn't take it out on someone around him but it got too much.

'Jim we tried! We just seem a bit preoccupied with the fact that Kate, _my girlfriend_ and _my daughter _Alexis are currently being held hostage and that I think their safety is more important that trying to contact someone who can't be contacted! So excuse me if I was a bit busy trying to save my family!' With that, Castle stormed back into the observation room and slammed the door, watching the interrogation continue.

He really didn't mean to yell at him like that but he was sick and tired of people not doing enough or not listening or just simply putting the blame on him. He was doing his best. Surviving on roughly four hours sleep for the past two days, Rick felt like an emotional and physical train wreck.

He knew that Jim felt as if they hadn't bothered but they really did, but Castle had hoped that Jim would realise the safety of his daughter was the most important thing. Castle knew that this worry was going to get to him.

For the millionth time today, Castle felt like punching a wall. Why, _why_, was everything moving so slow? Why was _everyone_ moving so slow? No one seemed to want to do anything around here!

'We'll be transporting you back across town so we'll keep in touch.'

In the interrogation room, Esposito and Ryan stood up, looking frustrated and waited as uniforms took the gang member from the room. Esposito looked at Castle through the glass shaking his head. Castle groaned and met them outside of the rooms.

'He didn't talk?'

'No.'

'Dammit. Does nothing want to go our way today?'

They walked out towards the break room but the two cops held the prisoner hostage.

'Richard Castle, how lovely to see you again.' A sly grin spread across the man's face.

Castle held his best poker face and kept silent, trying to keep his mind off the hatred of this man. His oily black hair and slimy facial features seem to aggravate Castle even more.

'And how's Kate doing? Oh wait, she's not here.' He cackled under his breath.

Castle's fist clenched tightly, turning his knuckles white. He could feel his muscles in his arms tingling as the need to punch the SOB grew.

The guy smiled as he watched the desired affect take over Castle, watching his jaw clam shut, 'I've heard a couple of things on the grapevine,'

Castle glared at him as he said that. The O'Reilly member grinned at him, 'I heard that she's pretty tasty.'

'You son of a-' Castle launched himself at the guy, Esposito and Ryan catching his arms just before he could punch him. Castle was thrashing around as uniforms led the man into the elevator. Every inch of him felt the need to bash this guy's head in, probably because he felt this man was to blame for the situation at hand, even though they couldn't prove it.

'Let-go-of-me!' Castle stared the man down, ready to throttle him.

'Castle calm down, he's just trying to provoke you!'

Rick ripped his arms from the detectives' arms and strode through the desks for the stairwell but a harsh voice stopped him in his tracks.

'Castle. In my office. Now!' Gates' voice tore throughout the silent precinct and Castle slowly stopped walking and retraced his steps to follow Gates into her office.

Castle slowly made his way to her office, his anger still controlling his mind. Gates opened the door and made her way to her neatly organized desk.

'Close the door and sit down.' Castle silently did as she asked before sitting down and waiting for the wrath of Gates to unleash on him.

Gates was pacing behind her desk before she took a big sigh and settled down in her chair.

'Castle, as your boss-'

'But you're not my-'

'As your _friend_,' she gave him a pointed look and Castle quickly shut his mouth, 'I need you to go home and get a full night's sleep.' Castle went to protest but Gates looked about ready to rip his head off so he bowed his head, 'You look exhausted and to be honest you are no use here when you nap on the sofa or drink all the coffee.'

'Now,' Gates got up and start to pace again, 'I know that I'm not supposed to know, but if there ever were a relationship between you and Detective Beckett, which of course there isn't, I would say that she would be worrying about your health as much as you are about hers. And because you two aren't in a relationship, I hope not to see any overreactions or actions that don't belong in the precinct to be seen. Am I understood?'

'Understood,' Castle held his calm demeanour but deep inside he was jumping for joy at the fact that Gates had practically confessed her knowledge of their relationship and had chosen to ignore it. And then the weight dropped in his stomach because it didn't matter. _Kate wasn't here anyway_.

'Now go get yourself cleaned up and I won't see you until the morning. Clear?'

Castle stood up, 'Clear.' He made his way out but paused with his hand on the door,' Captain Gates?'

She looked up at him from the file she was now scanning through, peering at him through her dainty glasses, 'Yes?'

Castle gave her a small grin and whispered, 'Thank you.'

Castle swear he saw the smallest of smiles flit across her face for half a millisecond before her stern look came back, 'Scram!'

Castle scurried out of the precinct, a new development of respect for the Captain coming to mind.

As he made his way towards the elevator, he passed one of the Homeland security agents who was on his way to Esposito for an update. That was when Castle was struck with a great idea.

'Michaelson?'

'Mr Castle what can I do for you?'

'I know you must be busy, but um- if there were any way that I could somehow contact Kate through your agent-'

He frowned, 'That would be highly dangerous-'

'I know,' Castle cut in quickly, 'But if I could send her a small note, could he get it to her?'

Michaelson frowned and pursed his lips, 'No names, no notations, no numbers, no places and give it to me within the next minute? I can definitely try.'

Castle's heart leapt in joy, 'Yes! Thank you so much! I-'

Michaelson gave him a pointed look and made a hurrying motion with his hands.

'Oh right-' Castle quickly scrambled to the nearest desk and quickly got a pen and paper before hastily writing down a short message. He handed it quickly to Michaelson who raised an eyebrow, 'Really? All that effort for that?'

Castle smiled and shook his head, 'You wouldn't understand. But Kate will, and hopefully it'll get to her and she'll know we're still here.'

Michaelson shrugged his shoulders, 'Alright, I'll try my best.'

Michaelson strode past him to see Esposito and left Castle in his wake, a happy smile on his face, one of the only smiles he'd given in two weeks.

Castle snapped out of his trance and pressed the button for the elevator, grinning at the thought of Kate receiving the note.

* * *

Kate was bored. Not worried. Well, maybe a little worried. But now, mostly bored.

And cranky.

And was craving cake.

Chocolate cake.

Chocolate mud cake.

With sprinkles.

She groaned in frustration glancing at Alexis who was currently planking on the mattress, face down.

'Kate,' She heard her name muffled by the pillow, 'I'm bored.'

Kate sighed, 'Me too, Hun.'

Alexis glumly raised her head, 'I'm not even upset anymore, just bored. Well, maybe I miss Dad and Grams but gahhhhh,' She turned over, threw the pillow across the room, and rolled over in frustration, 'This is terrible! They came with food yesterday but I'm still hungry!'

Kate agreed with her, 'And the hot water has run out. It's been nearly two weeks! Get me out of here!' Kate put her forehead against the wall, closing her eyes in boredom.

For the first time in days, feet were approaching the door and Kate and Alexis were no longer afraid of what was to come. But just in case, Alexis stood to stand beside Kate.

The door swung open and Grayson strode in with the two thugs behind him. Grayson had a black eye on his left side and his top lip was swollen and bruised. He winced as he brought his arm from behind his back, obviously in pain and walked towards Kate.

The thugs stood with their arms crossed as Grayson approached the pair and slowly handed Kate the bag. Kate jumped slightly as Grayson slipped a piece of paper into her hand, quickly slipping it up her sleeve swiftly. Grayson turned around swiftly and hobbled to the door. The thugs luckily hadn't seen the exchange and pushed Grayson out the door and quickly grabbed the door handle and slammed it shut. The click of the lock echoed and Kate stood there.

'He didn't look too good.'

Kate frowned and bit her lip, 'They probably ratted him out about getting too friendly with us.'

She was starting to worry because their only lifeline to the outside world could quite possibly be taken away from them and then they would really have no clue about what was going on.

'Kate are you ok? I've called your name like three times!' Alexis touched her shoulder and drew Kate out of her daydream.

'Yeah yeah, I'm fine.' Kate looked at her and put up a fake smile, beside the fact she was ready to jump out of her skin to discover what the note said.

Alexis eyed her suspiciously, 'Okaaayyy, well I'm going to go clean my teeth and change into my pj's so don't do anything stupid.'

As the bathroom door closed shut, Kate quickly grabbed the note from her sleeve, unfolded it and read the only two words on the paper:

_Always, R_

Kate gasped, struggling to cope with any words. To someone besides Rick and her, this note wouldn't make any sense and would seem stupid. She knew how much it would have taken for Homeland Security to get this note to her and she appreciated. _They're probably thinking what a waste of time, sending the note._ But to Kate, it was anything but.

She stumbled backwards, reaching for the wall behind her for support. The only contact they had for _weeks_ was now resting in her hands.

That one word, _Always_, held something to Kate and Rick. It meant that no matter when, where, who, what and how, that they would come in a blink if they could. That their partnership or relationship held such a strong bond that nothing could break it apart. That no matter how far away they were from each other, that this one little word could bring them closer faster than any car or plane could get them.

By this one word, Kate knew that Rick would never give up searching for him and knew that he would spend every minute of his spare time searching for them. As her hand scrunched that small bit of paper closer to her heart, she _knew_ that somewhere out there, Richard Castle was working his butt off trying to find her and Alexis, not going to rest until he had them in his arms again.

A small tear escaped her eye and she hastily wiped it away before giving a watery sob of happiness. She didn't care if anyone saw her, Kate would be happy to admit that she was happily crying. This one word had given her hope when there was none, providing her fragile heart with even more reason to love this man.

She heard the shower water turn on and Kate sat down slowly in the nearly broken chair next to the table.

She wasn't scared anymore of the future because she knew he was coming for her.

* * *

A/N: How was it? Any criticisms? Any comments? I didn't think it was too bad. Anyway have a merry Christmas everyone!

Also, I am probably going to update some of the older chapters and fix them up cause some of them are dreadful! **UPDATED: **have done a brief update of the chapters, not much changed!

Please R&R!

C xx


	11. Authors Note

A/N: Heeelllooooooooo everyone! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I know most of you were hoping (well i think so) that this would be a chapter but unfortunately my new computer doesn't have Microsoft Word yet but will hopefully get it sometime in the coming week!

But don't worry my dear children of the forest, I have the REST of the story planned out sooo when i DO get it, i shall try and get as many chapters as i can out before school starts in 2 weeks!

I'm sorry I've disappointed you all but I'm literally jumping in my seat to write the story and its killing me because i have so much time on my hands!

Once again, I apologize profoundly for not updating.

Oh and also, if any of you have seen _Pitch Perfect, _how bloody ammaazzing is it! Fat Amy is sooo funny, 'Sometimes i think i should do crystal meth, but then i think, hmmm better not.' oorrrr the classic line 'IM GOING TO FINISH HIM LIKE A CHEESECAKE!' classic Rebel Wilson (who is australian btw). accascuse me?

In the mean time, review on any interesting presents you got or New Years resolutions that you have made! I am exxtrreemeely bored and your reviews (or PMs if your shy or if your NY's resolution is embarrassing)(mine is) would make my day!

So, so long my friends and may the force be with you, may the odds be ever in your favour, get the ring to mordor, kill voldemort, make your own burn book for Regina George, become Regina Phalange (BEST SHOW EVER), write about Nikki Heat, solve crimes, SUIT UP, GERONIMO, fly a TARDIS, sprout wings, divide by zero, go defeat the wicked witch of the west, take up tap dancing lessons, wake your roommates up whilst playing the bongos, make out with Dan Humphereys, cry over DELENA, live from New York its SATURDAY NIGHT, but, most importantly, you stay classy San Diego.

Ciao Amigos!

xo xo Gossip Sloth

C xx


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Heelllllllloooo my beloved friends! Has been too long and I'm sorry I left you waiting!

Serious stuffs going to happen soon on _I Just Want You_, I'm so excited I can't WAIT to write the next couple of chapters so bear with me!

School starts for me in two weeks so I'll try my best to get at least another chapter out by then so keep with me!

It's been sooo hot in Australia atm, what with bushfires and 40o Celsius days so I've tried my best so if something is amiss please tell me because my brain is fried!

Please R&R!

Here we go….

Chapter 11

* * *

Alexis came from the bathroom, teeth brushed and pyjamas on, rubbing her arms up and down as she tried to keep herself warm. The heat had gone out and now the chill from the window was starting to slip in.

'Hey Kate I-' She stopped her sentence short when she saw the thugs staring at her through the open door and Grayson holding back a struggling Beckett.

'Mmhphh!' Kate's mouth was covered as she thrashed around as one of the thugs approached her and Alexis was dragged by her arm quickly out of the room, hearing Kate's protests before glancing back at her, watching Grayson lock the door close. The echoing of Kate's continuous banging on the door brought Alexis back to the situation at hand.

She tried to study the different routes they were taking from the room. After a while, the doors seemed to look the same and she got confused.

A door finally opened ahead of them and Alexis got pushed roughly inside, the door quickly slamming behind her.

'Alexis Castle, what a pleasure to meet you.' A tall man sat opposite her in a crisp black suit, giving off a weird vibe to Alexis. She frowned at him.

'Now, let's cut to the chase, I need your help.'

'Help? I can't help you with anything, neither will I want to!'

He chuckled, 'Actually you can. You my dear, are going to help me exchange something that I need very dearly. And the only way I'm going to get it back is if I exchange you.'

'Me? Why not Kate as well?'

'We'll get to that in a minute. Now, I've got sources who are currently trying to contact your father as we speak to make arrangements for the deal so you will need to be ready to depart within the next ten minutes so you can go gather your small amount of things.'

Alexis heart quickened as her mind switched into overdrive, 'I'm not leaving Kate, exchange her instead of me, leave her alone-'

'No can do sweetheart, an orders an orders, can't mess with the boss. No you run along-'

'Wait! What about Kate? You can't just leave her here!'

'Well, Katherine is being used for a more bigger scheme of things. She will be travelling with me next week back to Ireland to meet O'Reilly himself so lucky her, she gets to stay with us. The boss told us specifically that he has a use for her so, run along now.'

The thug in the corner approached her, 'No! Don't take me away from her! Please! I'll stay! I'll do anything!' She yelled as he picked her up, ignoring her legs that were kicking him.

'I'm sorry child. Off you go.'

'No! No!' Alexis could feel the tears streaming down her face as she struggled to breath as he crushed her lungs, bruising them as he dragged her to the room.

They reached the door which was flung open, the thug pushing her in which in turn sprawled her on the ground. She collapsed on the ground as Kate ran to her, collecting her in her arms and cradled her to her chest.

'Alexis!' She rubbed the girls back, 'Are you ok? Did they hurt you?'

The one nicknamed Goyle spoke in his heavy voice, 'Hurry up and get your things.'

Alexis looked at her panicked, 'They're taking me away and they're shipping you to Ireland!'

Kate's face dropped, 'What?'

'They're exchanging me then they're taking you to the O'Reilly boss! Please don't let them take me!'

The thug grabbed her arm forcefully, 'Come on now!'

'Please! Don't do this!'

'We have to go now!'

Just as the thug reached the door, Alexis wiggled out of his grasp back to Kate, hugging her tightly and whispered, 'Please don't give up on us! We'll come find you! Keep yourself and the baby healthy!' Alexis' tears soaked her shirt as she was lifted suddenly by the thug, who was fuming.

'No!' Alexis moaned as he threw her over his shoulder, 'Kate!' Kate held onto Alexis' hand before Grayson held Kate back.

'Alexis!' Kate was now crying, desperately trying to reach the hysterical girl, 'Let go of me! Alexis!' She tried to resist the agents grip but he held fast.

She watched the squirming and screaming Alexis being led helplessly down the corridor, her cries echoing and matching Kate's. Kate's fingernails were cutting into Agent Grayson's arms as she held onto him for dear life. His shirt was drenched with her tears as her tears turned into dry sobs, eventually she just kept repeating, 'No, no, no.'

As every minute passed, her grip lessoned slightly as the wall that had been holding her together since she got taken from Rick was being revealed brick by brick everyday they were apart. But now, someone had knocked down the whole wall, leaving nothing but rubble in its wake.

'Detective,' He whispered,' She'll be fine. I'll make sure of it.'

Before she could respond, he quickly raced to the door, closing it shut and locking it behind him. She understood why he had to leave but now the darkness and silence of the room was sucked viciously through the door, sending any signs of life with it. Kate legs shook and she collapsed to the ground, dropping her head into her hands, sobbing uncontrollably.

Before being welcomed into the Castle lifestyle, Kate would've happily have spent months on end spending every night alone in her apartment. Now, she would've given anything just to see Rick's face for just another second. She'd gotten so used to the comfortable family that had surrounded her for these past months that now, she couldn't see living life without them.

As she pondered that, she was brought back to reality as she felt the cold, unwanted chill from the small window which made a trill go down her spine. She gulped, she hated feeling vulnerable and right now, even though she was alone, she'd never felt more opened up and dangerously weak.

The light bulb above her flickered as the sun slowly left the room, leaving her in darkness.

* * *

Castle quickly made his way to Beckett's desk to retrieve his coat, feeling better than he had in weeks. As he strode to her desk, claiming his blazer and coat and slipping his arms in, he was startled by the ringing of a telephone. He shook his head, trying to calm himself down and try not to be scared at every noise. But the ringing wasn't stopping. That's when he realized it was coming from Beckett's phone.

His head snapped towards the incessant noise. He approached the phone cautiously, like it was infected and slowly picked the phone up and hesitantly putting it to his ear, 'Hello?'

There was a silence and ragged breathing filled the speaker, 'D-aadd?'

His heart suddenly sped up, 'Alexis?' His voice broke.

Esposito's head snapped up from his conversation with Michaelson and he rushed over to Castle and pressed the necessary buttons to record the phone call and switched on Beckett's computer to trace the call.

'Honey, are you ok?'

He heard her sob, 'Rrichaard C-astle, n-ice to finally sp-eak.' Her voice was slow and staggered and Castle got the vibe he was forcing her to say these things.

He paused before cautiously speaking, 'This is he, what do you want?'

'I wa-ant to arrange a mee-eting of sorts, I'll send the co-ordinates to your phone tomorrow. Bring the USB. Be prepared. Dad don't it's-' Alexis' shouting voice was cut out as the phone shut off.

Castle held the phone in silence as the beeping which signalled the ending of the phone call echoed in his ear. He glanced at Esposito to see him shaking his head in defeat, 'He cut off before twenty seconds.' Castle slammed the phone back and ran a nervous hand through his hair, cursing loudly.

'What am I going to do now? He's now using my daughter to get to me! I can't this for much longer! I just-' His voice died out as he drew a staggered breath.

Esposito stood awkwardly, 'Look, Lanie drew the prints and identified your stalker man from your building, Ryan's retrieving information from the DA as we speak and hopefully the news you just received is good. As for how tomorrow is going to pan out, we're not sure ut an exchange will likely be made so we need to be prepared. I'll go talk to Gates about squad cars and the Homeland agents about what we're going to do. Now, go crash on the couch and I'll wake you up when the guy comes in.'

Castle nodded in defeat and met the couch with welcoming drooping eyes.

He passed out before he even had time to adjust his position, not realizing how tired he really was.

* * *

For once in her life, Alexis was scared to her bone.

Sure, the kidnapping at first had freaked her out but she was with Detective Beckett, she knew she would be ok. Eventually, the team would figure it out. But she hadn't realized how serious this situation was. She knew it was a matter of life and death but the stakes had changed. Now it was the difference between surviving the situation or Kate getting killed along with her dad's only love and his only chance of a happy family with the one woman he would ever truly be happy with.

She knew if Kate didn't survive this, he would never recover. It had been hard enough to see her dad so miserable when he'd gone away with Gina for the summer, or especially the shooting at Montgomery's funeral. He hadn't left her side until hospital security forced him away.

And now, she'd just sent a message to him, held at gunpoint until the message was done. She'd received a harsh slap to her cheek for trying to talk to him towards the end. She didn't know where she was but knew she was in a black van travelling somewhere. She was currently gagged and blindfolded and tied up to the back of a car seat, thrashing slightly when the car turned, the ropes cutting into her wrists.

The thing was, she wasn't scared for what happened to herself. She didn't really care if she didn't get out of this, as long as Kate did. But deep down she knew she was only a pawn in this game and was lucky to be where she was now.

The car screeched to a stop and Alexis' heart quickened. She heard the front doors open and loud footsteps approach the vans rear doors. They were pulled open and she felt someone untying her from the seat before yanking her onto hard stones of the ground outside.

Her head was smashed hard and she felt the blood flow near her temple. The blood mixed in with her tears as she felt a gun cock next to her ear, 'Shut up little girl or I'm going to get one of my buddies to slit your eyelids and then you really won't see again, got it?'

She nodded as she tried to control her emotions, summoning all the courage she had before she felt herself getting yanked to her feet and being pulled away.

* * *

A/N: Sooooo what did ya think? Poor Kate but hopefully something good happens soon so keep an eye out….

Also, I loved the newest _Castle _starring Esposito! It was really good to see the episode focused on him (not that I think every episode should be someone else other than our favourite duo) but I was hoping more of Lanie but not to fear, I have read spoilers about the Valentines Day episode and Esplanie are getting back together! FINALLY!

Anyways hope you enjoyed it! You guys are the best!

Please R & R!

xoxo Gossip Sloth

C xx


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Aaaand I'm Back! Here we are with Chapter 13! Pretty exciting schtuff!

So I have another Castle story idea and I need opinions:

**Who do we hate more:**

A) Meredith

B) Gina

C) Paula

I need opinions because I'm not sure :S

Also, was it just me or did anyone think that the whole ending scene of the newest Castle episode 5x12, was meaning something more? Might be just me but I WAS reading online and found some TV show magazine had an article about a main female character from 1 out of 15 shows this seasonwas going to fall pregnant? I read it a while back and as soon as I saw this it popped back into my head again.

Here we go

Please R&R!

* * *

Chapter 13

Castles droopy eyes opened slowly, groaning as his muscles ached whenever he moved his shoulder. He slowly sat up off the precinct coach, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck. He winced as a sharp pain was sent down one of the muscles in his back. He slowly stood up, raising his hands above his head. As he did so he glanced at his watch, his eyes widening at the sight.

He immediately stood up, ignore the aching in his back and strode out to where Ryan and Esposito were comparing notes.

'Did no one think it was important enough to wake me up, its _eleven thirty_!'

'We figured-'

'Well you thought wrong! Did you not think I would actually want to be awake when this is all going down?'

Ryan looked guilty, 'The agents don't want you to be a part of this because you're not a cop, and they took your cell phone from you when you were asleep.'

'Also,' Esposito stood up beside him, 'We interrogated the guy, Darren Otswold. He lawyered up before we could break him but we have footage and prints to back our case. The agents have squads on hold so we'll be ready, as soon as Beckett's phone dials we'll trace the call. '

'What about the USB?'

'Well the agents have decided to fake the exchange.'

Castle starred at him in disbelief, 'What?!'

Esposito ran his hand up his arm, 'Yeah we'll I disagreed as well but they insisted, "_they have it all planned out"_, they just want control of the situation.'

Castle nodded silently before taking her place at Beckett's desk.

Almost an hour had passed and Castle hadn't moved from his chair. He alternated from twiddling his fingers, dozing off, playing Angry Birds of playing with the elephants on Becketts desk. He had always wondered what the story behind those elephants was and one day, he was going to wrangle it out of her.

Then, the long awaited ring of the telephone tore through the precinct, coming from Becketts phone. The three agents, the two detectives and the writer all jumped at the sound, watching as Castle hesitantly reached for the phone, glancing at Esposito who gave him a nod. Castle picked it up off the cradle and muttered a nervous, 'Hello?'

'Richard Castle.'

'Yes?'

'Central Park, 1.30, The Falconer Statue.'

The phone cut off and Castle slowly took it from his ear. He put it back in the cradle, glancing up at the agents who were moving towards the elevator.

Castle, Esposito and Ryan all made their way to follow the agents but one of them stopped them, 'Stay here and wait for our return.'

Without another word they marched to the elevator, suitcases in hand and left the building without another thought. They stood in a triangle formation as the elevator doors slid shut in front of them and left the three men staring at them in incredulity.

'Sons of bi-'

'Bastards!'

Castle sat back down, in disbelief that he wouldn't be there for the exchange in which his daughter was being transferred. He knew that their cursing and frustration wouldn't change anything and that just made it worse. He ran a nervous hand through his hair and drew a deep breath.

_Rrriinnnggg Rrriiinnngg_.

Their heads all snapped up and looked towards Becketts phone, which was breaking their frustrated silence. Castle looked at the two detectives who shrugged their shoulders. Castle leant forward and picked up the phone. He hesitantly paused before responding.

'Hello?'

'Have the agents left?'

Castle was surprised and glanced around him, wondering if they had a camera or something on them, 'Erm, yes?'

'Good now, get the detective to trace this call and come to this position.' Castle motioned to Esposito who had already got the address.

'What about the USB?'

'That is already being handled as we speak. We shall meet soon.' The line clicked off and Castle was left with the noise signalling the call had disconnected. Castle looked at the boys who were as puzzled as he was.

'What is going on here?'

* * *

Kate had barely moved in five hours.

She'd counted how long it had been from the initial kidnapping.

2 weeks.

14 days.

336 hours.

And every single minute of those days was steadily getting increasingly worse.

When Alexis had been here, Kate at least had her to help her through and keep strong. Especially when she found out about the baby.

But now…

Kate hadn't showered in 24 hours. She hadn't even touched the mess of hair on top of her head. She hadn't had any sleep since the day before when Alexis was taken and was sure that the dark circles under her eyes had gotten bigger. She hadn't looked at herself in the mirror for 3 days but she knew that if she did, she would most definitely not like the sight.

Surprisingly the one thing she'd actually maintained in her solitary confinement was eating food. Usually her schedule and her job tended to make her forget about eating and the repeated visits to the vending machine downstairs were frequent. If it weren't for Castle and his bear claws, she was pretty sure she would've wasted away by now.

It probably had something to do with eating for two people and being hungry all the time, and because she had nothing to do and she was bored, but she'd also made a promise. A promise to Alexis not to give up.

When they'd first taken her she sat there crying for at least half an hour before no more tears could form and her foetal position on the ground began to ache her bones. She'd never felt more alone in her life, let alone useless and defenceless. She knew they were saving her for something but Ireland?

Currently she was pondering the situation at hand with much thought. After 4 hours of wallowing in self-doubt she'd decided to not be useless and get up and do something. She'd found an old pen in one of the duffel bags and was staring at the wall opposite. As best as she could, she had drawn a 'murder board' on the wall opposite her and was currently trying to fill in the blanks.

_So, they're exchanging Alexis for the possession and are keeping me and in a few days are getting transportation to take me to Ireland. When arriving in Ireland, the detectives and agents will have 72 hours to find me before they lose me forever. That gives me roughly a week before I disappear off the grid._

She blew out a deep breath as she ran a nervous hand through her hair, trying to relieve some of the tension that was filling her.

_They have a week to find me before I disappear forever._

Her therapist had told her in the most stressful and painful situations, the best thing to do was to talk to someone. It had taken a while for her to get to this stage because she generally wasn't an open person. Finally, Rick had broken down that wall and had allowed her to open up to him and he helped her through her stress and worry.

Looking around, there wasn't really anybody availably volunteering to talk to her about her mental problems. _I could always talk to God._ That sarcastic tone murmured in her head. _Great, now I'm talking to myself, just what I wanted._ She had never believed in God or that there was a higher power but in her situation it couldn't really hurt, could it?

_No, you've never gone there so don't. You need someone in the room to talk to, face to face._

She rolled her eyes before freezing and glancing at her stomach._ It's not technically face to face but it's better than nothing, right?_

She decided to give it a shot, no one her would judge her and it wouldn't hurt to try. She shifted so she was in more of a comfortable position before placing her hands comfortably over her stomach.

_Hey. I don't know if you can hear me down there, I know you can't but I'm pretending, I'm not even sure if you're down there but here goes. I'm your mommy, my names Kate. I'm not sure if you're a he or a she yet so I'm just going to settle with 'baby' for the moment._

_To be blunt, you were an accident. I had no idea you were coming and this isn't the greatest of time to be introducing a child into the world. But, at the moment, you're all that I have left and I just hope you're ok. I'm going to try my best to protect you but I can't make any promises. _

_But if we do get out of this alive, you have to know that you have a family who loves you very much. You have an older sister, Alexis, who is one of the nicest girls I know. She's really smart and will teach you all kinds of this and she will love you dearly. You have a grandma, she's very fun and will spoil you rotten. You have a grandpa, who will treasure you so much and also spoil you and he will fill the role of a grandpa perfectly. You will probably help him get through the trouble in his life. And you also have a dad._

_Your dad is the greatest man I know. He's smart, kind, he's an awesome dad, he's protective and he loves you and he doesn't even know about you yet. He's is probably at this moment worrying about me so much and trying his best to find us. When he does find out about you, he will be over the moon and will never let you go. So if there's any reason to hang on in there, he is it, as well as the rest of your family. _

_Oh, and how could I forget about your aunts and uncles, Lanie, Javier, Kevin and Jenny. They are going to love you so much and spoil you rotten._

_You're the only one I've got left and I can't lose you. We may never see our wacky family again, but I will talk to you every day about them so you don't forget them._

_I have to get to sleep so you get rested. I'm still here so don't abandon me._

She closed her eyes and leant back against the wall, breathing deeply.

Calm. She hadn't felt this calm since Alexis was here. _I guess Dr Burke was right._ She smiled slightly as she rubbed her stomach, massaging the slight bump which was microscopically increasing by the day and she was starting to like this new addition, though she wouldn't admit that to anyone yet.

She'd decided to make this talk a regular thing as it was obviously helping her. Her back started to seize up and she realized that she'd spent two hours sitting against the wall.

She clambered up the wall and slowly stretched her aching muscles. She groaned and slowly started to walk around the room, grabbing at the wall as she made her way around.

As she blew out a breath, she accidently tripped forward, clambering at the wall to save herself. She fell anyway, landing on her side, cutting her arm on something on the wall.

She sat up and face the seemingly bare wall before pressing her head against it to look at it sideways. It wasn't flat.

She felt at it with her fingers, faintly making out a small box. She scraped at it with her fingernails and peeled off the paint slowly to reveal an old air vent. She twisted the old rusted nails until she open it with a loud creak. She nervously glanced towards the door to see if anyone had heard but she was in luck.

She put her hands inside to find a grate blocking her way. She cursed before feeling around the grate and she touched something sharp.

She carefully grabbed the object and pulled it out, revealing a couple of old sewing needles, she did a mental backflip and pulled them out to reveal their rusty form.

This was exactly what she needed. When they had taken her into the room with Alexis, she had woken up with only the clothes on her back and all her things, her badge, her gun and anything else sharp. But now, she'd found an escape.

She stood up but quickly sat down again as the blood rushed to her head. She'd just have to wait for a while to make sure the escape could actually happen.

* * *

A/N: So what do you think? Also, I read the synopsis about the dual Castle episode coming up and it says that the FBI is a part of it and they travel to Europe. Coincidence that I can read the future? I THINK NOT!

So good right? Castle's getting real exciting J

Anyways school started early for me today so yeah I'll see how I go writing the chapters :s….

Ciao babydolls, Please R&R

C xx


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Hello my pretties, so I'm back with the story,

Ok so it was great to see many people had responded to my theory, now that you've all expressed your opinions I can clearly see that I was wrong but I hope that maybe a proposal will come by the end of this season, or maybe it's too early? Oh well, I love the show and Andrew Marlowe and writers have done WONDERFULLY so far so I trust them J

On a rather sad note, I've just started school again and I met this wonderful boy and he's so lovely, then I was doing a bit of the old FB look aaaanndd turns out he's in a relationships which kind of dampened everything and that's why there was a bit of delay with the story sorry guys, if you have any advice on what I should do, I know I should leave him be happy but a girl can dream L I know I sound a bit naïve and shallow but I can't help it.

Oh and btw anyone who watches Supernatural, I looovveee Charlie/Felicity Day! She's so cool! Oh and I loved Dean/Jo but the show went and killed her off! I loved them together L

Please R&R or if you have a story/situation similar to mine PM me or review it would help heaps. Or if you have a favourite show you'd like to discuss, by all means!

* * *

Chapter 14

Esposito and Ryan sat nervously in the front seat of Ryan's car, they had opted out the cruiser as not to scare their exchangers off. Both the cops had then hands close to their guns as every block they approached the site quicker.

Castle was nervously twiddling his thumbs in the back seat, his 'writers' vest hidden beneath his shirt and coat. All of them were protected and had taken safety to extreme conditions. Esposito and Ryan were both fully equipped with as many weapons as they could because they did not know what to expect.

'So,' Ryan whispered, 'We've been over this. Castle stays behind us at all costs and we don't allow them to surround us. If they are giving us something or someone, Esposito goes in first and I cover him and Castle stays behind with the car so if we have to make a quick escape he can drive. Clear?'

'Clear.'

'Clear.'

Castle blew out an anxious breath as the pressure if this situation started to build more and more the closer they got. He knew that either Kate and Alexis or just one of them would be given back today but his gut wasn't giving him good vibes. He didn't like the conditions that this situation had occurred in but in another sense was glad that those dick head Home Land security agents wouldn't be there to mess things up.

'This is it.' Esposito muttered, breaking the nervous silence as he pulled into the empty and abandoned car lot. All that filled the car lot was an old, graffitied ticket booth and a black van which to Castle, vans meant bad news.

Their car stopped about 20 metres away from the van and Esposito turned off the engine, leaving the keys in. 'Let's roll.' He got out of the car, closely followed by the other two. As he got out, the passenger door of the black van open and a bulky bodyguard stepped out to open the van door, which he slammed sideways before standing back to allow another bodyguard, a man in a suit and a guy who was carrying what looked like a young girl with her wrists and ankles banded and her mouth gagged as well as a bag over her head.

'Alexis.' Castle made to move forward but changed his mind and composed himself when he saw the quick glance backwards at him from Esposito.

The two cops and the other group approached each other until Ryan could see the label of the expensive cigar that the aged man in the crisp suit was lighting up.

'Good afternoon gentlemen, I hope you had a pleasant trip.' The man spoke with a dictated English accent which Esposito noted before he responded, 'Let's cut to the chase before anyone else finds out you're here.'

The man shrugged effortlessly before notioning for his men to come forward. As they did as they were asked, they threw Alexis' body to the ground, a crack echoing as a muffled sob came from her hunched form at their feet. Castle muffled his own shout and had to bit his hand.

Esposito raised an eyebrow, 'What do we have to exchange? We don't have the USB.'

The man sent him a malicious smile before continuing, 'We have people already at the police station retrieving it as we speak. As for an exchange, I wish to speak with Richard Castle.'

The two detectives took this into consideration and nodded at each other before turning back to Castle and motioning for him to come forward. As he stepped forward, Esposito gently knelt down and scooped Alexis' huddled form into his arms before slowly retreating, Ryan in an active stance as he eyed their opponents.

As Castle pasted Esposito, he received a warning look before he stood next to Ryan.

'Richard Castle, we've never had a chance to meet face to face.' The older man outstretched his bony, elongated hand towards Castle in a sort of elegant matter. Castle stared at his hand in disgust and the man wisely took it back.

Castle muttered in a quiet and dangerous voice, 'What do you want, from my family and me?'

The man shrugged, 'Well the NYPD have been involved as soon as they started investigation the priests case so that explains Detective Beckett. We had to take her before she unknowingly found out a vital piece of information to use which luckily for her friends, she did not share. As for your daughter, one of your close relatives has been giving us a hard time so we decided to punish him.'

'Him? I don't have any male relatives that I know of. Maybe a distance cousin that I don't know I have-'

'Shut up you imbecile.'

Castle did so obediatley.

'Well this will just spice up our little situation a bit. We have for the past 6 years been holding in a cell, your dear father.'

Castle's face slacked in shock, 'My father?'

'The CIA had him out doing some dirty work for them and we happened to meet. Lovely guy, talks too much but we handled that.'

Castle jaw was trying to find words to say but luckily Ryan cut in, 'You have about 3 minutes to tell us what you want before the agents find us.'

The man turned to Castle, 'Your father once gave you something before your mother moved in with you, an old box with an assortment of things in it. I need the contents of that box.'

'That has to be almost 5 years ago-'

'I don't care, get it to me.'

'How?'

The man grinned sinisterly, 'I will contact you.' With that, he retreated to the van with his bodyguards close by, the men carefully watching over their boss until he was safe before slamming the doors and speeding away.

Castle and Ryan watched the car speed away and they both retreated towards their car, Ryan drawing his gun for protection.

They found Esposito gently sliding Alexis in the back seat, as the two men approached he turned around to greet them, 'Her left arm is broken and she has a sprained ankle. She's taken a rough beating to the temple so we'll need to get her to the hospital to get it checked out. Multiple bruising's on her legs and chest. Multiple cracked ribs as well. She's in rough shape.'

Castle cringed at the sight of her before taking Esposito's position and sliding gently next to Alexis, pulling her into his arms. She tried to sit up and say something to him but he gently pushed her backwards, 'Hey baby bird, lay down so you don't injure yourself, you're not going anywhere ok? You're safe.' She reluctantly nodded and winced as pain shot through her body. Castle gently helped her lay down before signalling to Ryan and Esposito that it was ok to drive. As the car started, Ryan called the nearest hospital and told them to stand by in the emergency room.

Castle tried to avoid looking at Alexis' broken arm as the bone jutted against her skin. Luckily for her, she'd passed out in shock and hadn't felt a thing.

He woke from his trance when she mumbled something incoherent but he managed to pick up some words, 'Kate…taken…..Irish…..bab-' She broke off as her head lolled to one side. Castle started to get nervous, 'Come on guys I'm not sure how long she's going to last!'

Ryan turned the sirens on and Esposito sped the car up. Castle blew out an anxious breath, he couldn't express his relief when he saw Esposito rush Alexis off into the safety of their side. Now he felt his worry halve and he felt better than he had in a long time.

But another part of him was starting to get even more worried because he knew Kate. Kate wouldn't tried to put up a courageous and protective front when Alexis had been with her. Now that she was alone though, he knew things would get worse for her. She would start taking stuff out on herself and she would start forgetting to eat or take care of herself and would eventually give up on the situation.

He felt his heart grow with hope at the thought of finally get his little family back together, trying not to ponder on the confusing thought of his father. _I have met him before, he gave me something. How could I be so stupid? He obviously disappeared when mother came to stay so he wouldn't be recognized._

He shook his head as he tried not to think about that right now, _I need to concentrate on Alexis and Kate right now so stop getting off track._

They finally arrived to the entrance of the hospital and the car door slammed open to reveal two doctors with a gurney. Castle helped them lift Alexis onto the gurney, explaining her injuries as Ryan slipped into the driver's seat and left to park the car.

The doctors pulled the gurney from the curve and raced her into the cold, hospital corridors. Castle held onto the cart whilst they wheeled it into emergency, watching as they checked through all her injuries and vitals.

'I need a drip of morphine stat and her in surgery to place the ribs back into place and an MRI on her head to see if it caused any internal brain injuries. Page Doctor Sanders, Go go go!'

Castle was stopped before they reached the surgery room and he tried to calm his frantic breathing. He'd rarely ever felt this rattled in his life and it scared him.

Watching the doors close behind the doctors, Castle stopped, staring at the sterile white door in front of him, which inside, held the fate of one of the most important people in his life.

* * *

Kate woke from her slumber, her neck aching as she realized when her mind came to, that she slept through the night in her upright position against the wall. She rolled her head slowly side to side, trying to release the tension.

A horn sounded off in the distance and Beckett flinched at the noise. Her stomach rumbled and she unwillingly got up and made her way to the fridge, slowly opening the door and grabbing what seemed to be a tin of beans. She made a slight face of disgust before grabbing a spoon and sitting down on the old plastic chair.

She hesitated for a moment before placing a hand on her slightly protruding stomach, _Don't hate me for eating this, not my choice. I don't like beans either._ She squished her face up and started to shovel beans into her mouth before her stomach could protest.

Suddenly, Grayson burst into the room. Kate rolled her eyes and dropped her spoon with a clatter. _Could a girl not get a moment of peace and quiet around here?_

'You have thirty minutes.'

'What?'

'They're coming to get you in thirty minutes. You either pack your bags and get ready to go to Ireland, or I'm going to leave and accidently leave this door unlocked and in five minutes, go down the corridor and turn right, go three door along to left, room number 213, there's a window in the corner. Climb through it and you'll have to make a jump down to the ground. They'll be looking for you immediately so run through the alley opposite and there is a hidden electrical storage container. Stay there for at least four hours then get out of the area.' He turned around and closed the door.

Kate took a moment to take in the information before hastily dropping everything and grabbing her jacket off the back of the chair. She grabbed her scarf hastily before getting the old plastic drink bottle from the table and retrieving the last of the muesli bars from the duffel bag and hesitantly standing by the door.

A couple of minutes past and Kate decided it was time to leave. Taking one last glance back at the room she'd inhabited for the last, she looked towards the door, not wishing to ever turn back. She closed her eyes and placed her shaking hands over her stomach, _Baby, this is our only chance, we can do this._

She turned the handle slowly before peeking her head through the gap in the door and glancing at the hallway ahead of her. Seeing that the coast was clear, she slipped her body through the small gap, subconsciously noting that she'd lost a considerable amount of weight. Getting her mind back to business, she sidled against the wall a slipped towards the end of the hallway as silently as she could.

She came to the T-section of the corridor and checked both lengths of the upcoming corridor. Seeing it was empty, she walked on the balls of her feet to the right so she could find the right door. 209, 211, 213. She pressed herself flat against it before slipping her body inside.

She closed the door with a click and turned slowly to survey the room. It was pretty much exactly the same as the one that had held her captive except there was no furniture and the window was just big enough for her to fit through and it was open, letting the cool ocean breeze into the room. _Wait, ocean breeze?_ She quickly and quietly dashed over to the window to look where abouts she'd actually been held captive for the last fortnight or so.

The view consisted of the seas which was at least 2 km away and was surrounded by old warehouses and shipping containers. She shook her head to clear her mind before looking below her. She was currently one floor up and was staring at an old dumpster below her.

She blew out a nervous breath, she knew what she had to do. _We can do this, I will probably not come out ok but I will come out alive._

She climbed through the window, swinging her legs to settle outside, swinging nervously. She tried not to look down as she slowly turned around, lowering her body so it slid off the ledge. She drew a deep breath before doing the thing her heart didn't want her to do.

She let go of the ledge.

Her feet landed first, making harsh contact with the old plastic lid of the dumpster. She rolled off instinctively; her back hitting the ground first, combat rolling on the ground. She tried to protect her stomach as much as she rolled to a stop.

She slowly rolled onto her back, groaning in pain. Her right foot started to feel as if it was on fire and she figured she'd sprained her ankle. She sat up slowly, trying to assess her injuries. Bruises, sprained ankle and strained muscles in her back, not too bad. Grabbing her scarf swiftly from her neck, she strapped up her foot as best as she could.

Hearing voices from the window she'd come from she quickly stood up and went to walk but stumbled as pain shot through her foot. She winced and hobbled as instructed to the alleyway ahead of her. She spotted the electrical cupboard ahead of her and opened it swiftly. She got into it quickly and closed it shut, using her nails to turn the lock from the inside. She stayed quiet as she heard the footsteps approaching near her and raised voices.

'Find….now….escaped…..tomorrow….O'Reilly.'

She picked up a couple of words they said and tried to stay still despite her awkward position. A couple of minutes past and finally her frantic heart started to slow down. She couldn't believe her luck and good fortune that Grayson had found her a slip of time to escape.

As the chilly air of the evening started to slip in, Kate tried to settle down and get comfortable which was next to impossible. Her foot was throbbing, back was aching, bruises forming but overall, she was ok. She could definitely be in a worse position, like for example, she could be on her way to Ireland.

_Hey baby_, she'd gotten bored and figured she may as well talk to someone. _I know that you're probably not comfortable because I'm definitely not comfortable but I'd rather this then going to Ireland. And this way, your father and I have a better chance seeing each other and then I can tell him I love him and tell him about you, our little miracle._

She smiled before closing her eyes and trying to get some rest before she had to get moving.

* * *

A/N: Hellllooooo fellow Castillians, or is it Castlenoughts or is it Castleknights or is it…..I'm not sure does anyone know?

3,000+ words! Good job to me! Best ever!

Anyway, I have to get going, got homework to do that's why it took me a while to get this chapter out. I wish I could just drop out of school and live off fanfiction but sadly, my parents say that a life on the internet writing isn't a suitable lifestyle. McDonalds employee here I come :)))

Nahh I'm just kidding I have no idea what I wanna be, maybe a psychologist or an actor. Have no clue. If you have any advice please message :)))

don't ya just love learning Romeo and Juliet monologues?

Please R&R!

C xx


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: I'm back, enough chitter chatter let's get on with the show!

O.M.G just watched 5x15, seemed familiar? A room with a bathroom, kidnapping? I must have predicted the future, and Paris? OMG IM A GENIUS I COULD WRITE CASTLE EPISODES IT MADE ME WANT TO WRITE MORE OF THE CHAPTER!

Oh and PS thank you to the many of you who reviewed or PMed me it was so much help!

Here we go

Please R&R!

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Chapter 14

Alexis moaned as she started the wake from her deep sleep. She felt as if her mind was bathing in rose petals, a million miles away from everything. A sense of dejavu washed over her and her groggy eyes opened in alarm as she woke from her dream like state. She looked around her, making sense of the view around her. _White walls, a man in a chair. Monitors._ The nervousness of her position started to get toher and her mind went into overdrive. She felt the restraints on her wrists and in a fit of panic tried to pull them off. The heart monitors began to increase in speed as the annoying beeping sped up to match her anxious heart. She screamed in pain when it hit her full on, the pain coming from her ankle and her heavily confined left arm. Her head was killing her, each pulse sending waves of agony all over her.

She felt herself being pushed back and couldn't hold back the tears streaming from her eyes. The arms were comforting and she focused on the face in front of her as it slowly came into view.

'Mhmgh?' She tried to speak but found that she had a breathing mask over her face. The outline of her dad in the chair next to her gave her a sense of familiarity for so long she had not had and she calmed down.

'Sweetheart.'

She tried to hug him, ignoring her bodies' pain to pull him in but couldn't. She groaned in frustration.

'I know you're annoyed but it's for your own good. Your arm is broken and you sprained your ankle. You also had a mild concussion but the nurses said than should be gone by tomorrow. I'm just so glad you're ok.' He rested his arm gently on her leg as a nurse came into her room.

'Hello Ms Castle, good to see you up. How bout we try and see if we can take the mask off eh?' Alexis appreciated this woman talking to her as if she weren't a child and nodded slowly. The nurse grabbed her file off the end of the bed and checked off a couple of things before going out to check on another patient. She followed the woman's instructions and waited the instructed time before she spoke to her dad.

'Y-you ok?' She croaked out. He handed her a glass of water and she sculled it down eagerly. Her throat calmed down and he spoke, 'I'm fine I'm just glad you're ok.' He rubbed a tired hand over his face and she could see some of his worry and doubts leave him. She knew the time that Beckett and she had been taken would have been tough on him and could understand what he was going through. Getting her back was one thing but the other half of him was still missing out there, about to be shipped to Ireland.

Her eyes shot open, 'Beckett!'

Rick smiled sadly at her, 'She wasn't a part of the exchange, she's still with them.'

Alexis shook her head, 'It should've been me, not her. Not like this!' Her unbroken arm was shaking and Rick tried to calm her down.

'It's ok, the boys are doing all that they can and I'm going to join them in an hour.' He smiled and kissed her forehead reassuringly.

'No, no, no.' She kept muttering under her breath.

Rick frowned at her, 'Calm down Alexis. I know you're worried about her and so am I but at the moment I need to know you're safe. Kate's a big girl-'

'Dad she needs me! She needs us! She needed someone!'

He paused to collect his thoughts, 'Of course she needs us, she's-'

'You don't understand. Dad she's…she's' She struggled with her words as the morphine was still wearing off.

'It's ok I can-'

'Dad, she's pregnant.'

He was shocked at her words, trying to get his mind around what he just heard, 'W-what?'

Alexis was crying again at this point, trying to hastily wipe away her tears with her spare hand, 'She's pregnant Dad and she needs me now, and now..' Her words trailed off as she looked towards her dad, worry starting to fill his face again. She could see him trying to take this information in.

'Are you sure? How..' He trailed off.

She chuckled through her tears, 'Dad we had the birds and the bees talk ages ago.'

He didn't respond to her so she grabbed his hand, 'Dad, Kate's strong. She can get through this, she's a trooper. When they took me away I told her to hold on for the baby. For you.'

He looked up at her, 'A baby.' He whispered, a smile creeping up on his face before he shook his head and blew out a deep breath. He stood up and began pacing the room nervously.

'A baby. Kate and I are going to have a baby. If she gets out alive. I have to find her! I have to start looking! She's all alone out there and she needs me. I need to make sure I find her and keep you safe. You're not safe! How can I-, She going to-' His ramblings were cut short when Alexis cut in.

'Dad! I can handle myself, just make sure there's at least one cop here at a time. Now, you need to go find her. From what I remember of the place, it was an old warehouse close to the sea. I could see the New York landscape in the background and we were in an old motel. Check out the food company _Grongo_ and where they have their shipping containers, we saw their logo. Go!' She smiled believingly at him when he grinned hopefully and kissed her forehead before racing out of the room.

'Oh and honey,' He skidded back into her room smiling at her, 'I love you and I'm glad you're back.' She smiled back at him, 'Love you too, dad.' He turned back around, flailing his hands as he ran towards the elevator.

Alexis chuckled but moaned as it sent a wave of nausea through her. She briefly registered the nurse coming in to refill her morphine drip and she was slowly drifting off into a wonderful, painless place. The relief she felt couldn't be explained in words as the mental and physical pressure she'd been feeling these last few weeks suddenly felt as if it was being lifted off of her. She was in a safe place but couldn't help but feel the guilt creep up on her. The last thoughts that came to her before she passed out were _Hang in there Kate, he's coming_.

* * *

Kate moaned and went to rub her throbbing neck but her eyes shot open when she realized the position she was in. Her whole body ached and she knew it would take months of rehab to fix her back and neck muscles. But at this moment, she knew that was not her biggest worry. Getting her out alive was her one priority.

It wasn't that she was selfish and that was all she thought about but to get her baby-their baby out she'd have to get herself out first.

_Okay Kate, you can do thing. In the kidnapping seminar you took at the police academy what did they say? Oh right the three D's. D for danger, get the victim out of harms way. D is for direct, find a place around you for them to stay. D is for disperse, get out of the area as quickly as you can but do it safely and quietly._

She took a deep breath and quickly rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She was starving, cold and thirsty and knew she had to find food fast. She had also noticed the considerable weight she had lost which just showed her small protruding belly even more. She smiled sadly down at her little bump and slowly started to move her body into a crouch.

The cabinet door creaked slightly as she slipped the tab which unlocked the handle. She push slowly against the door and craned her neck to peek out into the alley. Night time had fallen and guessing by what she could see could of the sky it looked to be about 9.00. She pushed the door open more and glanced either way along the alley, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw the deserted lane. Knowing she had to act quickly, she snuck her body through the gap and stood up.

She groaned as all the vertebrae in her back cracked and her muscles ached in protest. She made a mental note to find a spot where she could do some yoga exercises. Pressing her body up against the wall she slipped along in the shadows, grateful for her dark winter clothing. Without any light, it was hard to see but she felt the walls with her hands, hoping for any sign of a door or something useful.

She reached the end of her alleyway and poked her head around the corner. She spotted two men standing 100 metres ahead of her, talking on their phones distantly. Since her alleyway was a dead end the only possibility was to continue on to the lane on the other side.

Knowing this was her only chance of escape she slid down the wall and felt around the ground trying to find a decent sized rock. Grasping the object of her desire she stood up silently and returned to her position. Aiming for along the road opposite the guards she threw the rock with all her might and did a mental fist pump when she heard it clatter noisily.

The guards heard it too and began approaching the noise. She slipped back into the shadows and waited till they'd passed before sprinting soundlessly to her target.

Taking deep breaths of relief, she slipped back into the shadows and continued her quest to find a place to hide. Finally coming upon an old door she yanked at the handle until the door swung open with a creak. She quickly slipped in as suspected the men heard it too and closed it swiftly. Resting her head on the back of the door, her whole body almost collapsed with relief. Once she'd calmed her nerves down she turned around to see where exactly she was and came face to face with a worn out corridor.

As she slowly walked down the mouldy passage, it reminded her of the seedy motel Castle and she had investigated which led to them nearly being killed by a tiger. _Good times_ she thought sarcastically, but deep down she couldn't help but feel a sense of longing for that time. A time where Castle could help her calm her nerves and make her feel safe. Even if she was about to be eaten by a tiger. He was there with her.

She finally reached the end of the hallway and turned into the only room in the corridor. Smaller than the original room she'd been held captive in with Alexis, it held a broken bookshelf in the corner with a couple of dusty books. Graffiti covered the walls and in one part had been punched in and the plaster hung in tatters. The room looked as if it hadn't been lived in for about 20 years. She sighed as she found a dusty blanket in which she strung out and got the dust off before gladly wrapping it around her frozen body. Taking a closer look around the room, she looked up in the corner to see an old vent on the far wall of the room.

She approached it and heard the distant sound of a car from it. She grabbed an old chair that sat in the corner and stood on it to seen through the small shutters.

She sat at ground level, with her vision running along a road horizontally. A car pulled up to her right and she saw more men get out of the car and talk amongst themselves. It dawned on her that this was a main road and she now could keep an eye on things.

She was also aware that any loud sound she made would be detectable if they were there so she positioned herself in the corner of the room and lay comfortably on an old pillow. _I guess it's better than an electrical cabinet._

Trying to get rest was an issue because she was so hungry and had already dozed off in the cabinet. She decided maybe it was time to update Baby Castle on the situation.

She stared at the room as she thought to herself, _Hey down there, we got out of that uncomfortable little crook back there and now we're safe. Well kind of. Safer than we've ever been so far. Hopefully Alexis is safe and sound and Rick is taking care of her. _

_And hopefully he's looking for us, knowing him he is. Maybe he even knows about you. And you know what, I don't care if you're a boy or girl I know you're going to be the best thing that has happened in my life. Well maybe besides Rick. You two can be equal. I don't care if you're a mummy's boy or a daddy's girl either way I'll love you so much._

_Well I don't know what to say otherwise. Please stay in there for me, I would never forgive myself if something happened to you. And if you aren't there or weren't there at all, I'll just be strong and get through this_.

Kate felt vomit churn inside of her and held her shaking hand over her mouth. She breathed deeply for a minute or so before the sick feeling slowly went down. She decided this was a sign not to think of that sore subject.

_Anyway, hang in there and we'll be out of it soon. Love you._ She closed her eyes and lay contently listening to the distant sounds of the ocean, lulling her gently into a relaxed state of mind.

* * *

A/N: Hello kiddies so what did ya think? Sorry about the delay but I've been really busy but snuck in some good time to write today so I felt dedicated and wrote some more for this story.

Please R&R it makes my day when you do even if its just to tell me my story is rubbish. Well maybe it doesn't make my day but I take it into consideration anyway.

Maltese Falcon over and out

C xx


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Hello my fellow Castle friends! God I'm so deprived of Castle episodes what with the break, anyways onto the story! Sorry about the wait but HERE I AM LADIES AND GENTLEMAN!

Oh and BTW if anyone who is extremely awesome and has seen _A Very Potter Musical _ and _A Very Potter _Sequel on Youtube they have a new one called _A Very Potter Senior Year_ HOLY MOLY IT IS AMAZINGLY GOODLY AWESOME! 'Malfo you little shit!'

ahah and if you haven't seen it, get your ass to youtube and watch it. Best videos ever!

Please R&R!

* * *

Chapter 15

Kate was woken from her slumber by the sound of a car accelerating hard above her. Her eyes shot open when she heard a crash and car alarms started to go off. She scrambled to her feet, dusting off her hands as she quickly cracked her back and stretched her arms above her head before climbing up in the chair to see what was happening.

She tried to cough silently as smoke filled her lungs. Trying to wipe away the smoke from her face she peered through the smoke to see a four-wheeled drive crashed into the building opposite her. Glass had shattered everywhere and she could see a body hunched over the wheel, not moving by the looks of it. Voices were shouting in the distance and she hoped that this man would be ok.

The man groaned and she realized who it was.

Agent Grayson.

'Please wake up, please.' She silently wished for him to move because she knew if she yelled or moved from her position, they would find her and it would be all over for everyone.

She was also worried about him because throughout this whole ordeal, he'd been the one who'd reached out to Kate and Alexis and helped them regain hope. Without him, Kate would have surely given up by now and would have had no possibility of even getting through.

He moved which caused his door to slam open and he rolled out effortlessly. His hunched over figure started to cough and he slowly moved his hands by his to push himself up. He staggered as he brought his feet underneath himself but eventually stood up. Kate took a deep breath and continued to watch him, willing him to hide. But it seemed that the fates weren't in her favour.

Two of the O'Reilly henchman rounded into her vision and Kate watch the scene in front of her, trying to calm her thudding heart.

Grayson faced the two men, almost laughing at them, 'Haven't you two done enough?'

'Orders are orders lad.' The guy then quickly whipped out his gun and shot Grayson in the gut.

Grayson grunted as the bullet hit him in the stomach, his arms gently clutching the wound. His body fell limply with a thud as his head connected with the ground. Kate muffled her cry with her cupped hands as she watched the henchman walk slowly towards him. One of them crouched down besides Grayson's head and half-hissed, half-shouted into his face, 'Where is she?!'

Grayson chuckled and his body shook as the blood started to spread on the ground around him, 'Hopefully, far away from here.'

The man who shot him shouted in angry and kicked Grayson's limp body, sprawling him on his stomach.

Kate muffled her short breathing with her hands, her emotions running on high. The men turned around coldly on their heels and walked from her view. She heard a car start and the wheels squealing as they carried the murderer away.

She felt helpless as she watched Grayson convulse slowly, the pain growing and she knew these were his last moments. Watching this innocent guy who was just doing his job to keep her safe, she felt as if she were somehow responsible for him. What made it worse was that she couldn't even comfort him whilst he slowly died in agony. She let out a sob and Grayson's head slowly turned towards where she was. He coughed and blood slowly slid down his cheek and he croaked out a barely audible, 'Det-tective.'

With all the strength he could muster, he raised his shaking hand to his jacket's breast pocket and tap it lightly, 'My…wal-wallet…to m-my wi-ife. Tell h-her I…love..' A tear slid down his cheek which matched Kate's own, she slowly creaked the vent open slowly and slipped her tear-filled face through the gap, checking the road to see if anyone was there, before she decided to take the leap and climbed up through the gap and sprinted over to him. She decided that his last moments should be spent in comfort, no matter who saw.

The coast was clear so she carefully dragged him to a sitting position next to the crashed car, hidden from view. His body was growing limper by the second as the blood made marks on the road. She cried slowly as she rested his body next to hers to supply him with more comfort.

'Don't..hide-' She shushed him and she sat with him until his hands started to lose their grip on her arms.

His last words broke the silence with the smallest uttering, 'Thank… you.' She cried as she felt his body relax, knowing he was no longer with her anymore. Her arms shook as she brushed her fingers gently against his eyelids to close them. Removing her body from underneath him, she gently dropped his body to the ground and grabbed her scarf from around her neck and stretched it out to lay across his face. Taking one last look at the body she crouched to look around the car to see if the coast was clear before slipping through the shadows to the vent which concealed her hiding spot.

She slipped into the small vent and tried to control her shaking body to close the grate. After she made sure everything was secure, she fell to the ground and curled up into a ball and cried. All the pain and misery came flowing out of her and she knew she couldn't survive much more of this.

She crawled slowly back to where her blanket sat in the corner, feeling so hopeless and alone. She curled into a ball and sat with her back against the wall, her head resting backwards. She tried to calm her erratic breathing but gave up as her emotions took control.

_Rick, where are you?_

* * *

'Here! Right here!'

Castle was currently perched on the edge of a backseat of a taxi cab, hurriedly pointing directions to his driver who was getting more and more frustrated. Referring every now and again to his phone's Google maps, he was instructing the driver through an array of different warehouses.

The driver screeched to a halt as Castle quickly whipped open his wallet and pulled a couple of notes out and chucked them in the front seat before tumbling out of the car and straightening himself out as he stood up.

He waved the driver off as he slowly looked around him. This had to be one of the most barren parts of New York he'd ever seen. Warehouses covered in graffiti and not a person as far as the eye can see and no cars parked anywhere. He shrugged his hood over his head and started to walk to his left, trying to find anything that would give him a clue to where Beckett was.

The sun was nearly reaching the horizon and the sky was casting shadows on each step he took. His hands were starting to get cold as he hurriedly shoved them into the pockets of his coat. _Stop complaining you wimp, Kate is out there somewhere, suffering on her own and trying to find some sliver of hope out there in this dark world_.

Countless alleys ways and buildings he seemed to pass and he'd gotten nowhere. Not a person around to even ask for directions. He whipped out his cell phone, checking his coordinates but turned up with a couple of blank blocks that didn't help him at all.

He groaned as his feet were starting to ache, maybe this wasn't the smartest idea he'd ever had. Why didn't he just bring the car? Sometimes he didn't blame Kate for grumbling at him when his 'ingenious ideas' didn't exactly go to plan. _Well, when I find her, I'll show her how very glad I am that I found her, no matter how long it takes_. He tried to strongly hold onto that idea, not even trying to consider the fact that she might be de- might not be here even as we speak.

Deciding that this looked like the dead end he'd turned into an hour ago, he moaned in annoyance and turned back around. Glancing at his watch he saw that an hour had past and he could feel his regret that he hadn't thought this through properly start to show.

* * *

3 hours.

3 hours since the taxi had dropped him off and he'd gotten nowhere. Except his shoes starting to wear out the bottom of the soles and his feet aching in protest. Nearly a hours drive from New York and nearing to 11.00 pm things weren't looking too good.

Just as his hopes were about to get the best of him he heard the sound of car wheels squealing from behind him. He quickly slipped his body into the shadows, trying to stay out of view from the main road. His breath quickened as the car grew closer and zoomed slightly ahead of him before screeching to a halt and two men slid out of the car doors.

The driver had a lit cigarette in his mouth and was wearing a neat black suit jacket which gave Castle the heebie jeebies just looking at him. The mans bulky figure intimidated Castle and he looked warily away from him. The other guy was bald and had a duffel bag slung over one shoulder, and judging by the bulge in his jacket pocket, was armed. They slowly got out of the car and as they continued their conversation, Castle picked up their thick Irish accents and watched as the bald guy threw the bag over the smallish car to the other man.

Castle viewed as the pair lock the car and stroll up to an old battered door which had an old motel sign above it and Castle could faintly hear them talking. When the door opened, loud music filled his ears and Castle started to back away from the abandoned car. He knew they'd be back soon otherwise they wouldn't have left their car out in the open. Concluding that he'd rather not get to know those guys to personally, he hurried his feet along to get him out of sight.

Deciding to stick to the shadows, he wove his way through a couple more buildings before he drew to a surprised halt. He'd just turned the corner when he was affronted by a surprising scene.

The remnants of a car crash stood before his as he took in the smashed car. The faint tire tracks showed that the car hadn't seen this coming. The passenger door was smashed up against the wall and the black gloss paint of the car was smeared from where the car had initially crashed. He walked until the driver's side came into view and that's when he saw the body.

Looking around to check that the coast was clear he quickly dashed across the glass ridden road to where the body had been placed. The body had been neatly laid out with a tattered brown scarf covering the persons eyes. Castle hesitantly removed the scarf slowly to reveal a man in his thirties with both of his eyes closed. Placing the scarf gently back over the man's eyes, he sat back on his heels to look at the semi-covered man. Someone had been here to cover him up respectfully, to not leave him here amongst the rubble.

Voices were suddenly raised from where he'd emerged from and as they started to grow closer Castle stood up in a panic. Frantically looking around for a place to hide, the next alleyway a couple of hundred metres away. Opposite him was a smallish air vent and he decided to take his chances with it.

He quickly sprinted over, trying to keep quiet as he heard the voices getting extremely close. He tried to pry it open quietly but the rusted metal squealed under his fingers so he yanked it open quickly before shoving his feet in first, expecting to meet a vent but miscalculated and was met with air. His body slipped in too quickly and he gave a small yelp as he landed hard on his backside. Quickly scrambling up, he stood on his toes to quickly slam the air vent shut.

His breathing started to slow as he peaked through the vent to see the two men from before standing over the dead guy, the bald man yelling into his phone. The man hung up the phone and spoke briefly to his partner. He watched the duo as the suited man reluctantly picked up the dead man and slung him over his shoulder before disappearing from view.

He gave a triumphant fist pump before fixing his jacket and try to get the dust off his pants. Just as he was fiddling with a cut in his left pant leg he heard a small, hesitant voice come from the corner of the room.

'Rick?'

His head snapped up. The voice from his dreams. The voice from which he'd be denied of for so long. The voice of the woman whom he had been missing terribly. The voice of an angel.

The voice of her.

He turned quickly to look to the corner. There she sat, huddled with a blanket covering her legs, covered in dirt with her hair dishevelled and her vibrant emerald eyes lurking at him hopefully from behind her eyelashes.

She was alive.

'Kate?' He voice broke slightly as he stared at her in disbelief.

A shaky hand covered her mouth as a sob shook her whole body.

His feet led the way as he moved as quickly as he could to her, sliding on his knees to meet her in an embrace, his arms enveloping her tiny frame as he swallowed her up. She was sobbing into his chest as he kept her pressed to his chest, holding her tighter than ever.

'I thought you'd nev-ver find me.' She sobbed as she grabbed the lapels of his jacket and tried to get as close to him as she could. He ran a hand through her hair, whispering, 'It's alright, I'm here now, you're safe.' Her body shook with relief as he kept whispering to her.

She didn't let go of him as he shifted their position so she was curled in his lap, his arms holding her comfortingly. She was still sobbing as he kissed her forehead.

'Never le-eave me ag-ain.' She tried to speak through her tears as she grabbed his chin and brought his forehead to hers. He smiled in relief as he closed his eyes, taking her in.

'I won't. Ever.' He brought her lips to his and he kissed her with so much passion, the passion of a mouth apart from each other. Reluctantly, he broke the kiss to murmur against her lips, 'Never.'

She smiled through her tears and rested both of her hands on his cheeks, her eyes taking him in as if she hadn't ever seen another person before. He gently wiped away the tears from under her eyes and she half laughed half cried and she rested her head in the crook of his neck, 'Promise?' She whispered hesitantly.

He kissed her forehead once again before resting his own head against hers, closing his eyes, 'Always.'

And so they sat like that, huddled in the corner of the room until the sun rose up, neither falling asleep for the fear that they might wake up and discover it had all been a dream.

* * *

A/N: O.M.G guys I just had to do it. They had to meet again because it was driving me insane and it was probably driving you insane as well. Sorry about all the wait, school has just been psycho so I finally found the time to update.

Thank you Thank you THANK YOU to all the generous time giving people who have reviewed, you guys have been insanely wonderful.

And to everyone who is reading this, 'thank you random citizen!'

Peace out until next time!

Xox gossip goat

C xx


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